It's All Relative
by Pmtcvr98
Summary: Rachel's newfound family is coming to stay for the rest of the summer following the Second Titan War. Though she has her own secrets to hide, she find's that there may be more to the red headed family than meets the eye.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I read a story like this recently and really liked the idea. I thought I'd try it out. I'm sorry to anyone reading my other story, I'm currently working on the next chapter. Enjoy and please review**

Rachel wondered if she would ever fall asleep at this point.

The read head was lying in her bed, the time well past midnight, gazing intently at the ceiling, which just so happened to be decorated with a detailed drawing of what looked to be a very intense battle between two fire-breathing dragons.

Her focus, however, was not on the piece of art that she herself had produced, but on a conversation she had had with a certain black haired boy the week before. She knew she shouldn't dwell on it anymore, but honestly, how could she not. It's not every day that somebody becomes the host of the Oracle Of Delphi and speaks the second 'Great Prophecy' in seventy years.

Rachel wished she had stayed at Camp, or at least talked more with Apollo, who, although briefly explained the role she now played as the ancient spirit's host, left before she could ask the many questions that plagued her mind. Like, when would she give prophecies? Did she just spout them out left and right, or did someone who really needed one have to come to her personally to get it? For her sake, she hoped it was the latter, as she couldn't imagine her parents reaction if one night at dinner her eyes became an unnatural green and a mist of the same color was spewed from her mouth as she spoke about 'half-bloods' and 'Doors of Death'. They'd have Dr. Arkwright, her child therapist, on the phone before she could even finish.

And then there was school. _Clarion Ladies Academy_, the school she despised, while her father persisted it would turn her into the 'respectable young woman' she was supposed to be. It was highly doubtful that she would make any friends there, but she had already grudgingly promised her father that she would go next fall.

Not to mention the little 'family reunion' they would be hosting. The thought of it made Rachel look to her right, losing the long held staring match between her and the ceiling. Her gaze fell upon the extra bed that had hastily been set up the day before by one of the maids.

Her mother's second cousin, Molly, her husband, and all of her _seven_ children, were spending the rest of the summer with the Dares. Unlucky for Rachel, one of those seven children happened to be a girl, and Mrs. Dare thought it a fantastic idea if the girls shared a room, since they were apparently close in age. Rachel couldn't disagree more. The family was coming all the way from Britain, which gave Rachel the sinking feel that Molly and her family would be equally, if not more, snobbish than her own dreadful family.

However, Rachel knew she was not just wary of how her new roommate would act, but also because of the dreams she'd been having lately. She knew they were coming from the spirit within her, and could only guess that they were glimpses of the future. Rachel, thankfully, had yet to recognize anyone in these dreams, but they were vivid. One night she might simply overhear a conversation between two people. And the next night... well, those dreams were the cause of her insomnia. She'd seen people hurt, tortured, and even killed. After those visions, she'd wake up in a cold sweat, tears of guilt streaming down her face. Guilt because she knew that although this hadn't happened yet, there was absolutely nothing she could do to prevent it. Rachel couldn't be sure if she was vocal during these nightmares, but was still frightened that Molly's daughter would hear her anguish.

Rachel looked at the clock and sighed when she saw it was three in the morning. She had to deal with those relatives tomorrow and knew she could use all the sleep she could get. She returned to lying flat on her back, and her eyes met the ceiling once again. She closed her eyes and waited patiently for sleep to take over.

As Rachel began to slip into unconsciousness, she couldn't help but pray to every god she knew that she would dream the normal, mortal dreams she had enjoyed before she met Percy Jackson.

Rachel couldn't help but groan out loud as she was awoken from her dreamless sleep by her mother's frantic shouts.

"_RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE!_ The Weasley's will be here in under an hour! It's already two in the afternoon, you should be up by now," Mrs. Dare shrill voice filled the room as she pounded on Rachel's locked door," I expect you to be ready and downstairs in half an hour Rachel."

The pounding stopped and Rachel breathed a sigh of relief.

"And do dress nicely, please," Mrs. Dare added as an afterthought.

Rachel heard her mother's retreating footsteps as her heels clicked along the wood floors. She sighed and unenthusiastically got out of bed, knowing it wouldn't do her any good if she was late to meeting these 'Weasley's'.

She wondered if Mr. Weasley was like her father. Mr. Dare was an extremely wealthy business man who owned a company called Dare Enterprises. He made his fortune, which paid for the mansion Rachel lived in now, by buying land and turning it into malls and subdivisions. Rachel didn't exactly agree with his business, and felt especially guilty last year when she met the fading wildlife god, Pan. She knew her father played a big role in the Wild fading quicker, being a land developer.

Of course, his business also meant that he was barely home and in turn, never really spent much time with Rachel. They sometimes went on family holiday's, like this summer, they went to St. Thomas for two weeks, but even that went terribly wrong as she was forced to go back to New York to tell Percy he wasn't the hero mentioned in the Great Prophecy. Rachel knew, although not very proud of it, that she could count the good memories she shared with her father on her fingers. Though the two were never really together, whatever time they did manage was usually spent with Mr. Dare complaining about something Rachel did or said or wore, resulting in an argument she knew she could never win. No doubt, she knew her dad loved her, and always wanted what was best for her, but, unfortunately, that wasn't always what she needed.

Occasionally, he would try to make it up to her, usually with his money. For example, when Rachel was six, she remembered the unfortunate fate of her hamster, Curly, who died suddenly one day while Rachel was playing with him. She had run to her father, sobbing as she had tried to tell the traumatizing tale. Mr. Dare's response, with full support from Mrs. Dare, was to pay a therapist, Dr. Arkwright, to come speak to Rachel. Looking back on it now, Rachel thought it was a bit over the top to pay someone to talk to her about such a small problem, but apparently, Mr. Dare disagreed, as he now consulted the doctor for every problem with Rachel he couldn't deal with. Perhaps he thought it was helping her, but to Rachel, sessions with Dr. Arkwright were just as fun as one of her arguments with Mr. Dare.

She drew the conclusion that if Mr. Weasley was anything like her father, maybe she wouldn't dislike his kids much after all.

Rachel's thoughts were interrupted as she realized that she had to be downstairs in fifteen minutes. She hurried to her closet, keeping in mind that her mother was not just politely asking that she dress nicely. It was an order she could, unfortunately, have no objection to.

She wished she could just throw on a pair of her paint- splattered jeans and a comfy T-shirt, but she also knew that her mother would just about explode if she met the Weasley's dressed like that.

"First impressions are very hard to change, so get it right the first time," she would always tell Rachel.

Rachel could argue that she was spending the rest of the summer with this family, so it would, in fact, not be very hard to change her impression on them. _I'm not looking for an argument, though_, she though as she grudgingly pulled out a green sundress her mother had given her. It was simple and the fabric looked soft enough, so she would at least be comfortable.

She slipped the dress on and decided to leave her frizzy red hair down, staying barefoot, because if there was one thing Rachel absolutely refused to wear, it was heels.

"_RACHEL!"_

Said girl jumped and looked at the clock, only to find that she was supposed to be downstairs five minutes ago.

Rachel cursed softly and ran out her door, hoping the Weasley's hadn't arrived yet. Her mother would be furious with her if she were late.

It took her longer than she liked to get from her room on the third floor to the sitting room on the first and her eyes widened immensely at who she could only guess were the Weasley's. She could only see their backs, as they were facing away from her, but she could tell she already liked them.

Mr. Weasley was a tall man who was wearing a suit not quite as fancy as her fathers, as Mrs. Weasley, a plump woman in a multi- colored dress Rachel would actually wear, stood beside him.

Then there were the children. The oldest, Rachel could only assume, since he was the tallest, had long hair that was pulled back in a ponytail and what she thought was a fang dangling from his ear. The one next to him was a few inches shorter and Rachel could make out a tattoo of a dragon on the back of his left arm that reminded her of the drawing on her ceiling. There were four more boys standing next to him, but nothing really stood out to Rachel about them, besides the fact that two seemed to be the exact same height. She wondered vaguely if they could be twins. Then there was the daughter, the one Rachel would be rooming with. She was the youngest by the looks of it and Rachel couldn't help but grin when she saw her clothing choice, jeans and a hoodie. They were all dressed like that, and Rachel wondered for a moment if maybe she had been wrong.

What really stood out to her though, and made her freeze was the fact that on top of every head in the family was a mane of thick, flaming red hair, just like hers.

Neither of her parents shared her rare hair color, as her mother was brunette and her father was blonde, and always made a point to remind her of the unusual head of hair she had compared to them.

Not to mention that they both had brown eyes and she had somehow gotten a startling blue.

It was then that her mother spotted her, smiling a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Ah, Rachel, you've finally decided to join us."

Nine heads instantly turned toward the girl as she strode past them towards her mother and father. Finally seeing their faces, Rachel knew she had been quick to judge.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had a genuine look of happiness Rachel assumed only disappeared at the worst of times and Mrs. Weasley had a caring look in her eyes that Rachel's mother always seemed to be missing. She saw that the two boys of the same height were in fact twins, and seeing the mischievous glint the two pairs of eyes held, was immediately reminded of the Stoll brothers back at camp.

They all looked a bit shocked as they saw Rachel, no doubt because of her hair, but smiled nonetheless.

"Molly," Mrs. Dare said addressing Mrs. Weasley," This is my daughter, Rachel."

Rachel was taken aback as the woman rushed forward and hugged her. The twins snickered at the shocked that was written on the girl's face. She eventually grinned and hugged back as Mrs. Weasley said,

"Oh, Rachel dear, it's so nice to finally meet you!"

"Same to you, Mrs. Weasley," Rachel said politely.

"Oh, no dear, just call me Molly," Rachel nodded, smiling as they broke away from each other. She already loved this woman.

"Let me introduce you," Molly gestured to her family that still stood in a long line.

"This," she began, pointing at Mr. Weasley, "is my husband, Arthur."

Mr. Weasley came forward and shook Rachel's hand as his wife continued.

"This is my oldest son, Bill," The guy with the long hair and fang earring gave a small wave to Rachel.

"And that's Charlie," that was the one with the dragon tattoo.

"Percy," Rachel stopped smiling when she heard the name, and immediately thought of her green eyed friend. This boy looked nothing like the Percy Rachel knew though. He was few inches taller than the twins, and wore horned rimmed glasses. Rachel collected herself and started smiling again, unnoticed by the adults, however, the Weasley children eyed her strangely.

"Fred and George," she said and the twins smiled identically and waved simultaneously. It kind of scared Rachel in a sort of funny way.

"Ron," she pointed to a boy that look about the same age as Rachel with a freckled complexion. He had blue eyes similar to Rachel's, a long nose, and was very tall and lanky, with big hands and big feet. His stature was similar to those of Bill and Percy, rather than Charlie, Fred and George, who were a bit stockier.

"And finally, my daughter, Ginny."

Rachel gave Ginny a smile, which she returned confidently, and she knew instantly they'd get along. She reminded Rachel of Annabeth in the sense that she didn't take anything from anyone.

Rachel tore her eyes away from Ginny as her father's voice rang through the room,

"Now that we all know each other, why don't we go to the dining room and sit down for dinner."

"Oh, that sounds lovely," Mrs. Weasley responded, still beaming.

The only one who looked excited as they made their way through the overly large house was Mr. Weasley. Rachel notice how his eyes lit up like those of a child in a candy store. He looked as if he wanted to touch everything they passed and kept muttering excitedly to his wife.

The Weasley children, however, looked appalled, staring at the expensive furniture, high ceilings and polished wood floors. Rachel could have sworn she heard Ron gasp when the extremely long dining table came into view, and a small voice at the back of Rachel's mind suggested that the Weasley's were in fact the complete opposite of what she'd imagined. Maybe they weren't wealthy at all.

The china plates and silverware had already been set out when the Weasley's and Dare's sat down. Mr. Dare took his usual seat at the head of the table and Rachel's mom sat to the left of him. Rachel sat two seats away from her father. She'd rather have a Weasley on each side of her than sit next to her father. Percy sat on the right side of Mr. Dare and Ginny took the spot between him and Rachel. Mrs. Weasley sat next to Rachel's mother and Bill sat next to her and straight across from Rachel. Fred sat on the other side of Rachel and George took the seat next to his twin as Mr. Weasley sat next to Bill, Ron reluctantly taking the seat at the end.

They sat in silence for a few moments, settling into their seats as the employees of the Dare household served the two families dinner. Again, Rachel was surprised as she observed the Weasley's astonishment, as if they had never been served like this before.

As they were left alone, each member at the table began to fill their plates with the food in front of them. The silence was broken by Mr. Dare when he addressed Mr. Weasley,

"So, Arthur, Olivia," he indicated to Mrs. Dare," has told me that you work for the Prime Minister?"

Rachel looked up curiously at Mr. Weasley, who smiled excitedly at her father, while his children exchanged knowing looks, making Rachel feel uneasy.

"Indeed I do, Walter. Nothing interesting though, just have a job in the Misuse of Historical Artifacts Office," Mr. Weasley said and Rachel's nose scrunched up in confusion. She had never heard of that, not that she knew much about British government.

"Very nice, very nice. And what about you Bill," Mr. Dare inquired.

Bill looked, Rachel noticed, far less excited than his father had to answer Mr. Dare's question.

"I work for a large banking company."

This answer, although very vague to Rachel, seemed to suffice for Mr. Dare as his eyes traveled to Charlie who, taking the hint, answered the unspoken question.

"I train and study exotic animals out in Romania."

Rachel looked at him and grinned, that was a profession she would be interested in. Mr. Dare didn't hide his shock,

"Well that must be interesting."

Charlie smirked knowingly and nodded, "Very."

Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Dare had begun to converse quietly about things unknown to Rachel.

"And I suppose you've just graduated, Percy? A bit too early for a job, eh?" Mr. Dare continued his interrogation of the older children.

Rachel heard George's barely audible groan which was followed by Fred whispering, "Did he really have to ask?"

"Actually, Mr. Dare," Percy said before she could figure out what the twins meant," I've got a job at the Ministry myself. Got it just after graduating."

Rachel thought Percy's tone was a bit pompous, but she supposed he had the right to show off if he of a government job without having to go to college.

Mr. Dare's eyebrows shot up on his forehead, clearly impressed as he eyed Percy with a new look, "Very impressive. You must have had high marks in school to pull that off. Speaking of, what school do your children attend?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. She knew her father only asked so that he could boast about Rachel going to Clarion.

"Ah, yes, they go to a very secluded boarding school in Scotland. You've probably never heard of it. It's called Hogwarts."

Rachel choked on the water she was sipping, and started coughing, but composed herself when her father gave her a sharp look.

"Ah, not to worry Walter, it does have quite a strange name, but it is quite the respectable school," he said politely, throwing an understanding smile at Rachel, who returned it, still a bit embarrassed at her outburst.

_But really,_ she thought, _what respectable school had the name Hogwarts? Its sounds like a skin disease._

Mr. Dare seemed to be thinking the same thing, but smiled and continued the conversation nonetheless.

" Very nice, very nice. Well, Rachel here," Rachel internally groaned as the inevitable topic came up," will be going to Clarion Ladies Academy this fall, a very prestigious private school Olivia went to herself."

"Is that right," Mr. Weasley asked cheerfully.

"Unfortunately," Rachel whispered to herself as Mr. Weasley and her father went on to converse about the school.

"I think it's safe to assume that you're not quite as excited as your father to be going to that school."

Rachel's head shot up to the source of the voice, only to discover Ginny smirking slightly at her. Rachel grinned and nodded slightly, "You could say that."

"So you're the one I'm rooming with then?"

Rachel nodded.

"Well you don't seem too bad," she said.

Rachel eyebrows rose at Ginny's comment and she gave her a look, "I'm not _too_ bad?"

She giggled, "Sorry, that came out wrong. I just meant... well when I first saw your...house, if you could even call it that, I...," she seemed to be struggling to find the right words, "Let's just say I've met more than a few people that use the wealth that they have to act superior to those who lack it."

Rachel smiled understandingly, looking calm. On the inside, however, she was jumping for joy, screaming with relief. She had most definitely been wrong about the Weasley's being as pompous as her own family. She would not be rooming with a snobbish girl with an upturned nose and an annoying, posh English accent. No, Ginny was someone she could get along with. She had an air of confidence, a sense of humor and was able to sum up what Rachel hated about her family.

Maybe this summer wouldn't be too bad.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's chapter 2. Enjoy and please review :) **

Once they finished dinner, the two families found their way to the enormous sitting room and sat on two of the larger couches that faced each other. The grandeur of the room seemed to yet again leave the Weasley's in awe as they murmured to each other, trying to discretely point at things around the room.

They sat around for a while, sharing stories, telling jokes, though big-headed one's from Rachel's father. The only one who genuinely laughed at those were Percy. Rachel wasn't sure if she like him or not.

She learned that the Weasley's lived just outside of a small village called Ottery St. Catchpole, but both Bill and Charlie were living abroad.(Bill in Egypt and Charlie in Romania.)

It didn't take much for Rachel to realize that Fred and George were exactly like Travis and Connor, save them being twins. Every story they shared contained some kind of prank they pulled, leaving Rachel in a fit of giggles.

Ron was definitely the quietest of them all, and, Rachel noticed, even seemed a bit wary of the Dare's.

Finally, after two hours of conversation, Mrs. Dare stood up with a rare genuine smile on her face and said,

"It's getting late. Molly, Arthur, why don't Walter and I show you to your room," Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood up as well.

Mrs. Dare turned to Rachel, "Rachel, I trust you can manage to show the boys where they'll be staying."

Rachel didn't fail to notice the patronizing tone her mother addressed her with, but nodded nonetheless.

The adults left the room as Rachel rose from the couch and turned to the Weasley children, motioning for them to follow her. They were all staying on the same floor, so Rachel didn't really have to go out of her way.

They walked in silence until they reached Rachel's door.

"This," she pointed to the door, "is my room, where Ginny and I will be staying."

They nodded in understanding and Rachel walked down the hall until they reached the next door.

"This will be for Bill and Charlie."

"And that is for Fred and George," she said, pointing to the door directly across the hall.

"Percy, Ron, you'll be sharing that room," she pointed to the end of the hallway.

They all nodded and headed to their respective rooms and Rachel made her way towards Ginny, who was standing right outside of her door. Rachel walked over and entered her room, Ginny not far behind. The latter gave an involuntary gasp as she took in not only the enormity of her relatives room, but also the art that adorned her walls.

"Did you make these?"

Ginny was in awe as she surveyed Rachel's room as if it were an art gallery.

"Yes."

Rachel was feeling self-conscious. It wasn't as if she doubted her talent, or thought Ginny hated them. However, these were personal, some of them came from her dreams, and she didn't just let anybody see them The only other person that had succeeded in securing her trust enough to gain entrance to her room was one Percy Jackson.

Ginny was gaping at a particular portrait of a young blonde boy when she noticed the ceiling. Her eyes widened slightly as they landed on the mythological creatures.

"Whoa," Ginny whispered. "Charlie would love that."

"Charlie?"

Ginny looked at Rachel, who noticed a newfound glint of admiration in her eyes.

"Yeah, he's got a thing for dragons."

Rachel nodded, remembering his tattoo.

"I can't believe you did all of these. They're amazing."

Rachel blushed at the compliment, "Thanks. Are you any good?"She wanted the attention off of her.

"What, at art?" She snorted. "Not at all. I'm more into sports."

"Really? What do you play?"

Ginny beamed excitedly, "Quid...F-football, I play football."

Rachel eyed the other girl inquisitively. It seemed as if Ginny was scolding herself for the slip-up she had made. Rachel decided to let it go for now and replied,

"Oh. That's cool."

Both girls got ready for bed in silence and Rachel was too preoccupied to notice that Ginny looked just as nervous as _she_ felt. Unknown to both red heads, they were suffering from the same problem, and both were contemplating the possibility of being found out by the other. Ginny was nervous that a reoccurring nightmare in a certain chamber would torment her tonight, while Rachel was anxious that the Oracle would plague her mind, bringing dreams of distress.

Both went to bed without a word to the other.

When Rachel woke up the next morning , she was quick to realize that Ginny was gone, her bed already neatly made. She silently thanked the gods for her night of normal dreams, and unenthusiastically got up and began to get ready.

She was relieved to find that she was up just in time for breakfast, because if she hadn't, her mother would've gone ballistic. She gladly put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, throwing her bedraggled hair into a messy bun and beginning her descent to the main floor.

She stopped abruptly outside of the dining room upon hearing voices.

"- just nervous one of us will slip up. We can't have any of them finding out dear," she heard Molly Weasley say.

"All will be fine. We just have to avoid speaking about-" Mr. Weasley' reply was cut short by one of the twins- Rachel couldn't yet tell the difference between Fred and George.

"Easy for you to say dad, you're the one that wanted to come here."

Ginny spoke next, "Fred's right. I came very close to mentioning Quidditch to Rachel last night."

Rachel heard someone gasp and remembered her question about sports last night. _What's Quidditch and why can't I know about it?_

"Oh calm down, I don't even think she notice anything out of the ordinary," Ginny added.

"Besides," she was shocked as Ron spoke up, "if they do accidently find out, we can always just modify their memory, right?"

Rachel had a sinking feeling as her eyes widened slightly, face draining of color. She wasn't sure she wanted to know how they planned to modify her memory and found herself suddenly very suspicious of the Weasley's. What was it that they didn't want her to find out.

However, her eavesdropping ended as she heard her mother enter the dining room from the kitchen. She took a moment to collect her thoughts and compose herself before she entered the room, returning Ginny's greeting smile half heartedly.

Rachel took the empty seat next to Ginny, trying to act as if she hadn't heard their previous conversation.

"Hey," Ginny addressed Rachel.

"Morning," Rachel replied.

Mr. Dare walked in then and just as he sat down, the doorbell sounded throughout the room.

"That's odd, I don't think we're expecting anybody," Mr. Dare said with a frown.

When nobody moved to answer it Ginny turned to Rachel," Isn't anybody going to answer it?"

Rachel tried not to sound snobbish with her reply, "Usually one of the maids gets it."

"Oh."

"Miss Dare," Rachel looked up as she was addressed and gasped. Next to the maid who answered the door was one of her best friends, Percy Jackson, and acquaintance Nico di Angelo.

Percy was wearing his usual orange Camp Half- Blood T-shirt and tan cargo shorts. His hair was in its usual unruly manner as his beaded necklace hung loosely around his neck.

Nico looked dark as usual, wearing black jeans and a T-shirt of the same color under his aviator jacket. His shaggy black hair hung in his brown eyes as they cautiously regarded the occupants of the room.

Percy looked nervous as he smiled awkwardly, as now everyone's attention was on him.

Rachel snuck a glance at her father and winced when she was met with a hard glare, his jaw locked in an annoyed manner. You could say that he wasn't a big fan of Percy.

Rachel cleared her throat, breaking the tension, "Excuse me," she said getting up from the table and leading her friend into the sitting room.

Nico stood away from Rachel and Percy as they sat down.

"How did you guys get here?"

Percy pointed to Nico, "He shadow traveled us here."

Rachel grew nervous as she considered the cause of his unannounced visit.

"What happened? Is everyone okay? Did something happen at camp? Did something go wrong with the-" Percy cut off Rachel's frantic rambling.

"Whoa, Rachel, slow down, everything's fine," he assured

Her shoulders slumped, " Well then why'd you come," she asked curiously.

Percy blushed," I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Your dad made you leave camp pretty suddenly, since your family was visiting and we never really got to finish our conversation."

Rachel beamed at her friend. He came to check if she was okay.

"Wait," Rachel said, "Chiron let you two leave camp just to talk to me?"

"Well... the thing is..." Percy stuttered.

"Chiron does know you're here, right?"

Percy smiled sheepishly, "We'll be back before he even notices.

"And might I add, you should check with your parents if you were adopted, cause you look like you belong to that other family," he joked.

Rachel grinned, but it was gone as soon as it came as she remembered the conversation she overheard this morning.

"Rachel, what's up," Percy asked, suddenly concerned.

Rachel had an internal battle before deciding that she would tell Percy about the suspicious activity of her relatives. After retelling that mornings events and the talk of Quidditch and modifying memories, Percy adopted a troubled look and glanced toward the dining room.

"That's a little weird," Percy said uneasily.

Seeing his concern, she offered reason, "Maybe I'm just being paranoid, or I heard them wrong."

Percy didn't look convinced," Do me a favor Rachel."

Rachel nodded as Percy fumbled through his pockets. His hand came out with a few gold coins Rachel knew to be drachmas.

"If you need me, for anything, just IM me and I'll come," Percy handed her the coins and Rachel nodded.

She was pocketing the gold when she heard her fathers impatient voice from the kitchen.

"Rachel, tell your friends it's time to leave."

Not wanting to anger her father further, she threw Percy an apologetic glance.

Percy stood and walked over to Nico.

"Hopefully we'll talk soon," he said before they exited the room.

"Yeah, hopefully," Rachel whispered to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:Thanks so much to everyone that reviewed, followed and favorited. I really appreciate them. Yes, I did get this idea from the story, Relatives, by SilverWing321, but this story is going to be nothing like it, it's going in a totally different direction. Here's chapter 3, hope you enjoy. Keep reviewing :D**

After Percy left, Rachel grudgingly made her way back to the dining room, preparing herself for the earful she was bound to get from her father.

She sat back down cautiously and sighed when he began. He didn't even have the decency to wait until they were alone.

"I don't like that boy. Not one bit. He's a bad influence; filling your head with nonsensical garbage. And who was that boy with him. I do not want you mixing with _that crowd._"

Rachel bit her lip and it too everything she had not to retort. Mr. Dare, his breakfast now ruined, stood from the head of the table and left the dining room.

"Who were they," Ginny asked.

"Oh, those were my friends, Percy and Nico," Rachel replied.

Mr. Weasley spoke next, "Did that young man's shirt say Camp _Half-Blood?"_

"Yeah, it's a summer camp," Rachel said.

"Do you go to it?" Fred or George asked, Rachel couldn't tell.

"Not really. Sometimes just to visit friends."

Rachel heard Mr. Weasley mumble something about, "_...odd name for a camp...", _and smiled. She found it a bit hypocritical that he comment when his children attended a school called _Hogwarts_.

The next two weeks flew by without incident and Rachel was proud to say that she could now tell which twin was Fred and which was George, after a memorable afternoon of them letting her help prank Percy.

She now considered Ginny a close friend after some pretty in depth late night chats with her new roommate. She had successfully avoided Oracle dreams, and though she knew her luck was most likely running out, she enjoyed it while it lasted. She didn't know it yet, but Ginny shared her sentiments.

On a particularly rainy night, both girls were turning in after discussing Ginny's new boyfriend, a boy named Michael Corner, who was a year older than her.

Both girls fell asleep rather quickly, unknowingly sharing a common goal of making it through the night nightmare free. Unfortunately, only one would succeed.

It was around two in the morning that Rachel was awoken by noises coming from the bed next to hers.

She groggily opened her eyes and searched for the source of her arousal. Rachel was wide awake and by Ginny's side when she noticed her restless form.

Her face was pallid and she was mumbling incoherent things. Rachel was suddenly sad as she noticed the wetness on her younger relatives face.

"Hey, Ginny," Rachel shook the girl gently, "Ginny wake up."

Rachel jumped back slightly as Ginny suddenly bolted upright in her bed. She quickly looked around the room, searching for any present danger. When she found none, she surprised Rachel by shoving her face into her hands and breaking into sobs.

Rachel blinked and remained frozen for a few seconds, before cautiously climbing onto Ginny's bed and throwing her arms around the younger girl.

Ginny gladly accepted Rachel's comfort and buried her head into the others shoulder. The two remained this way for a few minutes before Rachel spoke up.

"Do you want me to get one of your brothers? Your parents?"

"No!" Ginny answered quickly.

"I'm sorry... I just..." Ginny tried.

"Don't worry," Rachel assured, "I get it, more than you probably think I do."

They sat in comfortable silence before Rachel spoke again,

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Ginny looked pained for a moment, almost as if she did, but she knew she couldn't.

"No," she said, "thank you though."

Rachel nodded, "Anytime."

It was the following night that Rachel's own good fortune ended. She knew it as she was slipping into unconsciousness, this would be no normal dream.

_Rachel was looking at arguably the oddest scenery she had dreamt in. She was definitely outdoors and judging by the lack of light, it was nighttime. She was situated in the middle of a path defined by thick, towering hedges casting shadows that made it impossible to see where it ended. The only source of light was directly in front of her where what seemed like a large, gleaming cup rested on top of a plinth, emanating a blue glow. _

_It was silent for a few moments and Rachel wondered whether anything would happen or if she would just be stuck looking at this cup till she woke up._

_But then she heard a commotion._

"_Cedric!" An unrecognizable voice suddenly bellowed. "On your left!"_

_Rachel looked to the right, searching for the source of the voice, but it was too dark._

_She looked to her left and saw the shape of a body that she guessed to be Cedric, along with the large mass on his left the other was trying to warn him of. Cedric hurled himself past the thing and avoided collision, however, he tripped and Rachel saw something shaped like a stick fly out of his hand as a gigantic spider stepped into the path and began to bear down upon him._

_Rachel would have been terrified, but she knew the spider could do nothing to her, for this was only a dream. _

_"Stupefy!" the original voice yelled and Rachel finally saw him, a boy that was just a bit shorter than the one named Cedric, holding a stick similar to the one he dropped. As he yelled, Rachel was frozen with shock as she saw something fly out of the stick toward the spider. Although it made impact, the spider only scuttled and began toward the unnamed boy._

_"Stupefy! Impedimenta! Stupefy!"_

_But his attempts were futile__. The spider was so large, that the jets of light that Rachel still didn't quite understand were doing no more than angering it. And suddenly it was upon the other boy._

_She looked to Cedric desperately and was relieved to see him pick up the stick.__He unnecessarily yelled "Stupefy!" too, but it had no more effect than the others. The other boy- still under the spider- raised his stick in one last attempt as the spider opened its pincers once more and shouted "Expelliarmus!"_

_It surprisingly worked and had the desired effect as the spider dropped him and the boy fell twelve feet to the ground with a thud. _

_The two boys aimed at the spider's underbelly and yelled, "Stupefy!" at the same time and the combined force did what one alone had not: The spider keeled over sideways, flattening a nearby hedge, and strewing__the path with a tangle of hairy legs._

_"Harry!" she heard Cedric shouting to the other boy. "You all right? Did it fall on you?"_

_"No," the one she knew now to be Harry replied, panting.__He leaned against the hedge, gasping for breath, and looked around._

_Cedric was now standing feet from the Rachel and the cup._

_"Take it, then," Harry panted to Cedric. "Go on, take it. You're there."_

_But Cedric didn't listen. He simply stood there, glancing at Harry. Then he turned back to the cup. Rachel recognized the longing expression on his face in its blue glow._

_Rachel wondered what was so special about this cup as she observed the two._

_Cedric looked around at Harry again, who was now holding onto the hedge to support himself. He took a deep breath._

_"You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here."_

_"That's not how it's supposed to work," Harry argued._

_"The one who reaches the cup first gets the points. That's you. I'm telling you, I'm not going to win any races on this leg."It was then Rachel notice his bleeding leg._

_Cedric took __a few paces away from the cup, shaking his head._

_"No," he said._

_"Stop being noble," said Harry irritably. "Just take it, then we can get out of here."_

_Rachel was feeling impatient as she hoped one of them would give in and take the thing._

_"You told me about the dragons," Cedric said. "I would've gone down in the first task if you hadn't told me what was coming."_

_"I had help on that too," Harry snapped._

_"You helped me with the egg - we're__square."_

_Eggs, dragons, first tasks, Rachel thought nothing could surprise her after finding out the Greek Gods were real, but here she was, astonished, hanging onto every word these boys said, already befuddled by the stick thing._

_"I had help on the egg in the first place," said Cedric._

_"We're still square," said Harry, testing his leg gingerly._

_"You should've got more points on the second task," said Cedric mulishly. "You stayed behind to get all the hostages. I should've done that."_

_"I was the only one who was thick enough to take that song seriously!" said Harry bitterly. "Just take the cup!"_

_"No," said Cedric._

_Rachel would've groaned in annoyance if she could have._

_He stepped over the spider's tangled legs to join Harry, who stared at him. _

_"Go on," Cedric said. He looked as though this was costing him every ounce of resolution he had, but his face was set, his arms were folded, he seemed decided._

_Harry looked from Cedric to the cup with a look of longing similar to Cedric's. _

_"Both of us," Harry said._

_"What?"_

_"We'll take it at the same time. We'll tie for it."_

_Cedric stared at Harry. He unfolded his arms._

_"You - you sure?"_

_"Yeah," said Harry. "Yeah . . . we've helped each other out, haven't we? We both got here. Let's just take it together."_

_For a moment, Cedric looked as though he couldn't believe his ears; then his face split in a grin._

_"You're on," he said. "Come here."_

_He grabbed Harry's arm below t he shoulder and helped Harry limp toward the plinth where the cup stood. When they had reached it, they both held a hand out over one of the cup's gleaming handles._

_"On three, right?" said Harry. "One - two - three -"_

_He and Cedric both grasped the cup._

_Instantly, they disappeared and Rachel was yet again gobsmacked as the setting changed. She was now standing in a gloomy and overgrown graveyard. A hill rose above them to their left. Rachel could just make out the outline of a fine old__house on the hillside._

_She had a sudden ominous feeling come over her._

_Suddenly, Harry and Cedric slammed into the ground before her, cup falling out of their hold and falling before her. _

_"Where are we?" Harry voiced Rachel's question_

_Cedric shook his head. He got up, pulled Harry to his feet, and they looked around._

_Cedric looked down at the cup and then up at Harry._

_"Did anyone tell you the cup was a Portkey?" he asked._

_Portkey?_

_"Nope," said Harry, understanding perfectly, looking around the graveyard. It was utterly silent and slightly eerie. "Is this supposed to be __part of the task?"_

_"I dunno," said Cedric. He sounded slightly nervous. "Wands out, d'you reckon?"_

_Wands..._

_"Yeah," said Harry._

_They pulled out their sticks... wands, rather. Harry kept looking around him. _

_"Someone's coming," he said suddenly._

_Rachel saw that Harry was right, as a figure was drawing nearer, walking steadily toward them between the graves. She couldn't make out a face, but from the way it was walking and holding its arms, it was holding something._

_Whoever it was, they were short. And upon further observation, the thing its arm seemed to be a bundle. A baby, maybe. As if this dream wasn't already weird enough._

_Rachel noticed Harry lower his wand slightly and glance sideways at Cedric. Cedric shot him a quizzical look that assured Rachel that they too had no idea what was going on. They both turned back to watch the approaching figure._

_It stopped beside a__towering marble headstone._

_Harry and Cedric and the short figure simply looked at one another._

_Rachel watched in terror as Harry's wand slipped from his fingers as he put his hands over his face and suddenly he was on the ground._

_She suddenly h__eard a high, cold voice say, "Kill the spare."_

_As she comprehended what the voice said, she felt absolute dread fill her. She didn't know which was the spare, Harry or Cedric, but it didn't matter, she didn't want either to die._

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_She somehow knew those words could mean nothing good._

_A blast of green light flew towards Cedric and hit him square in the chest. He fell beside Harry, who had had the privilege of being blind during the ordeal. He opened his eyes, finally seeing what Rachel saw. _

_Cedric was lying on the ground beside him, eyes open wide with the shock of his last moments. He was dead._

Rachel shot up in bed, panting heavily, as she rubbed her hands over her face in an attempt to convince herself she was no longer dreaming. She looked cautiously over at Ginny, who, thankfully, was sleeping peacefully in her own bed. Cedric's dying moments were replaying in her mind over and over like a broken record.

Rachel sat there for a moment, mulling things over. She had had her fair share of weird dreams, but this one had her dumbfounded. It started out with two boys fighting a _gigantic_ spider, competing for a _cup_. That cup had been a...what had he called it...a Portkey; Rachel still didn't know what that meant, and finally they were somehow transported to a graveyard where Cedric had met his untimely death. Oh, and they used wands.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly, frustrated with her lack of knowledge. Accepting defeat, and embracing the fact that she wouldn't understand the vision tonight, she checked the clock.

Five in the morning. Rachel heaved a sigh and slumped her shoulders.

Deciding that she had had enough of her dreams tonight, she retrieved her sketchbook and her colored pencils and furiously began drawing the scene she had witnessed in the graveyard.

She hadn't known him, but she felt an obligatory sorrow after witnessing his murder and felt she needed to pay him some sort of respect. She wasn't sure if drawing it happening was the way to go, but it had helped her on previous occasions. She remembered everything, they mysterious figure, the bundle in his arms, Harry covering his face, Cedric lying beside him.

By the time she had done all she could, two hours had passed, the sun was coming up and Ginny was still asleep. Placing her sketchbook on her unmade bed, Rachel got up and threw on her kimono, and decided to go down early for breakfast.

As she exited her room and began down he hallway, she heard shuffling coming from Bill and Charlie's room.

It was when she was making her way through the sitting room that she heard a small, but audible scratching noise. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she searched for the source of the disturbance.

Rachel's eyes widened impossibly as they fell on the windows and she gasped loudly. Outside, standing on her windowsill was an _owl._ It looked ancient and Rachel thought it resembled a molting grey feather duster.

That wasn't all, though. Though she couldn't tell what it was, Rachel could see that something was tied to its leg.

Despite hearing footsteps behind her, Rachel's eyes stayed glued to the animal outside, scratching on her window as if it wanted to be _let in_.

She turned around when something clattered to the floor behind her only to see Bill, picking up the book he had just dropped. When he looked up their eyes met and Rachel could tell he was petrified.

He started stuttering, looking at a loss for words.

Rachel beat him to it, "D-do you see that... that-"

"Owl," he finished for her.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"Uh-yeah...Er... that's Errol."

She looked at him in disbelief as he made his way to the window and opened it, letting old creature in and untying the string on his leg.

She stood there, gaping at him for a moment, "Is...Is that a_ letter_?"

He smiled nervously, "Yes."

"That owl, whose name is Errol...delivers mail to you?" Rachel asked slowly, trying to clarify the bizarre situation.

"Cool, right," Bill asked unconvincingly.

"How?"

"Oh... um, well... you see, the thing is," Rachel raised her eyebrows as Bill struggled to answer. Suddenly, it looked as if a light bulb went off in his head."Charlie trained it!"

Rachel remained where she stood, staring at the eldest of the Weasley children, clearly not even close to convinced.

The silence was broken as Charlie's voice sounded through the room from the staircase.

"Bill! Did we get that letter from Dumbledore about the Order..."

He trailed of slowly as he entered the sitting room and saw that Rachel was present. Bill covered his face, giving Rachel the distinct impression that she'd just heard something she wasn't supposed to.

"Yeah, Charlie, Errol just delivered it," Bill replied miserably.

The trio remained silent for a few long, tense seconds, before Rachel decided it was too early in the morning for her to be presented with any more abnormal things she didn't understand.

Fed up that no truthful, sound explanation was going to be given to her, she sighed, frustrated and strode to the kitchen to get something for breakfast.

_What kind of name is Dumbledore anyway_, she thought angrily, grabbing an energy bar. She poured herself a drink and headed back to the dining room, which was now full. Everyone was present except for her parents and Ginny.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as the family chattered amongst themselves, so she assumed Bill and Charlie hadn't had a chance to tell them about their encounter this morning.

Rachel kept her eyes on the tablecloth, thinking hard about her dream last night as she ate her breakfast slowly. She sat in undisturbed silence for a few minutes before forcing herself to look up at the sound of a concerned Mrs. Weasley's voice,

"Ginny, dear, what's wrong?"

Tears fell freely down Ginny's freckled cheeks as she stood still in the doorway of the dining room. Mrs. Weasley practically flew to her only daughter's side and Rachel's eyes widened while her mouth hung open when she saw what Ginny was holding by her side.

Her sketchbook.

Even when Mrs. Weasley continued to ask her daughter what was wrong, Ginny ignored her and her swollen eyes remained on Rachel.

She held up the drawing of the graveyard that Rachel had left on her bed that morning and a gasp was produced by each person in the room besides the two girls.

"Ginny," Ron whispered, terrified, "where did you get that?"

"Why don't you ask her," Ginny replied bitterly, referring to Rachel, "she's the one that drew it."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter is super long. Also, this story takes place during OotP, so right before fifth year. Thanks SO much to all the follows, favs and reviews. I REALLY appreciate them and I hope you enjoy. Keep reviewing**

Rachel kept looking at Ginny, even when she felt every head in the room look in her direction.

"That's not possible," she heard Mr. Weasley say, "she couldn't possibly know-"

"She does," Ginny cut her father off, still looking at Rachel. "You did draw this, right?"

Rachel didn't know what to say. Did her relatives know Cedric and Harry? Why else would they be reacting like this?

"Rachel..." Ron said slowly, "Did you?"

Rachel bit her lip. She prayed one of her parents would walk in right now, or anything would happen to take the Weasley's attention off of her. She knew she couldn't lie, but she also knew that if she told them she had drawn the picture, questions about how would follow. She absolutely couldn't tell them about being the Oracle and was desperately trying to think of a false explanation.

"Rachel!" Ginny interrupted her thoughts.

Rachel closed her eyes and sighed, "Yes. I drew it."

Mrs. Weasley gasped once again, "What... how did you...?"

Rachel didn't answer at first and found herself longing for one of the drachmas Percy had given her. She wasn't sure that even he would know what to do, but she couldn't have them finding out about that world.

Rachel was sure they wouldn't even believe her, but she didn't want them thinking she was crazy. Even more, she couldn't have them telling her parents anything.

She was brought back to reality by Bill's voice, "Rachel how did you draw that?"

Rachel saw no other way out, "I saw it in a dream. Do you know them?"

Her question was ignored as they all eyed her with shock and curiosity.

"A dream?" Mr. Weasley repeated.

"How long have you had dreams like that?" Charlie asked.

Rachel eyebrows rose as she detected not disbelief, but concern in their voices.

"Um... well..." she stuttered, and decided not to lie, "since the beginning of the summer."

They all seemed to ponder this.

"Have you always seen these people in them?" Mr. Weasley asked Rachel, referring to Harry and Cedric.

Rachel shook her head and asked again, "Do you know them?"

She was yet again ignored.

"Do you know why you see these things?" Mr. Weasley inquired.

Rachel wondered how she would answer this," I... well... I sometimes see... glimpses of the future..." She trailed off slowly, waiting for the inevitable claim that she was crazy.

"You can see the future?"

"You're a Seer?"

Rachel stared at her relatives in wonder.

"You believe me?"

"Wait, something doesn't make sense," Ginny interrupted, "This already happened."

She was talking about the graveyard drawing. So they did know Cedric and Harry. But that meant...

"How did you see it then," Bill asked.

Rachel panicked, "Uh...well, I've never been able to explain it. So I guess I can see past events too."

That was a lie. During the war, in order to understand the prophecy, she had gotten visions of Luke in the past, before he even knew he was a demigod.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley started whispering amongst themselves and though Rachel knew they were talking about her, she couldn't hear them. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she caught the words, "Squib" and "Dumbledore".

She recognized the name and remembered the weird encounter she had with Bill and Charlie that morning. Apparently so did they because suddenly, Bill gasped and pulled what she guessed was the letter from his pocket.

"Dad, I forgot to tell you. Errol delivered this letter from Dumbledore this morning. It's about the Order of the Phoenix."

Everyone but Bill, Charlie and Rachel gasped and looked from Bill to Rachel. It was clear that he was supposed to refrain from saying those types of things in front of her.

"It's okay," she assured, "I didn't understand it this morning, I certainly don't understand now."

Mr. Weasley, although confused, cautiously took the letter from Bill and began reading. Rachel couldn't help but notice the Percy looked at the letter with clear disgust in his eyes, as if it had personally offended him.

"Well, looks like we're going to have to cut this holiday short," Mr. Weasley concluded.

His children began protesting.

"Why?"

"Dumbledore needs us back," Mr. Weasley said.

"Who is Dumbledore?" Rachel asked, though she didn't really expect an answer.

Everyone looked as if they had forgotten she was there.

Ron answered, "He's the Headmaster of our school."

She decided to try her luck, "And what's the Order of the Phoenix?"

The Weasley's awkwardly looked around at each other, trying to avoid Rachel's gaze, but nobody answered.

"We should tell her," Ginny said suddenly.

Her family looked at her as if she had lost her mind. Rachel was grateful though.

"Maybe she can help us. She can see the past and the future," she reasoned.

"And what do you suppose we do Ginny, bring her back to London with us?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know," Ginny said, "I was just thinking... maybe she'll see something about You Know Who."

Everyone went silent at this and Rachel's eyebrows rose. She didn't know who, but she doubted it would do her much good to ask.

Percy, who had looked extremely uncomfortable since the mention of the letter, decided to break the silence.

"I've actually been meaning to tell you," Percy said to his father, looking boastful," Fudge has promoted me to his Junior Assistant."

Rachel was finding harder and harder to take her relatives seriously, as they kept referencing people with unbelievable names. _First Dumbledore, now Fudge, _she thought.

She could tell that this was something Percy expected Mr. Weasley to be impressed by, however, the latter could not have looked farther from it. In fact, none of the Weasley's seemed too pleased with the promotion. Mr. Weasley looked desperately at his son as something Rachel could only describe as fear flickered through his eyes.

"You can't seriously be considering taking it Percy," Mr. Weasley said slowly.

"Well... I already have..."

Rachel could feel the tension spike in the air, like it does before a major storm. She felt a bit awkward and wished she was anywhere else in that moment. She had had enough fights with her own father to know where this was going.

"How many times have I warned you? You must see, Percy, Fudge has only offered you that position to keep track of the family, as well as Dumbledore."

Percy looked irritated as he rose from his seat, "Do you know how hard I've worked for this," he sounded incredulous, "Oh! Wait, I'm sorry, I'd forgotten, you don't, because you have no ambition!"

"Percy!" Mrs. Weasley cried.

Rachel observed that the happiness that had remained constant since the moment they met had gone from Mr. Weasley's eyes and was now replaced with a ferocity she didn't think possible for such a kind man.

He too had risen from his dining chair, but before he could counter his sons insult, Percy continued,

"No, mum! It's his own fault that we've lived the way we have! We could have lived like this," Percy indicated the grandeur of Rachel's home, "but because of his _stupid_ obsession with Muggles, we didn't. You're the reason we're so poor."

It was in that moment that Rachel decided that she didn't like Percy Weasley. No, in fact, she _hated_ him. No matter what material things Rachel had, her whole life, she ached for what Percy had so obnoxiously disregarded. She'd take what the Weasley's had any day, even if it meant being homeless.

Percy went on,

"I've had to struggle against your lousy reputation since starting work at the Ministry! The only thing that earned me the post I have today is my hard work and intelligence! And Merlin knows that Fudge should be keeping an eye on Dumbledore. And Harry too-"

"Enough!" Rachel jumped at the enraged shout that came from Mr. Weasley. "You must understand, Percy! Harry and Dumbledore have no reason to lie about You Know Who being back and-"

Mr. Weasley looked livid as Percy cut him off,

"He's not back. I don't care what Harry's said. I don't care what Rachel's drawn. You're an idiot to run around with Dumbledore, believing everything he says! He's headed for big trouble and I can't wait to see you go down with him!"

"You must realize where your loyalty needs to lay!" Mr. Weasley shouted.

"I know where my loyalty lays and it is with the Ministry!"

Mrs. Weasley was crying at this point and the drawing that had haunted everyone this morning seemed completely insignificant. The Weasley children looked at Percy with the most hatred they could muster, but Rachel noticed that none of them looked the least bit surprised.

Mr. Weasley began again, "Percy, we-"

"If you lot are going to become traitors to the Ministry, I'm going to make sure everyone knows I don't belong to this family of...of...imbeciles anymore!"

With that, he strode angrily across the dining room and exited, purposely slamming the door behind him. Almost instantaneously, Mrs. Weasley began sobbing, and a still red-faced Mr. Weasley rushed to his wife's side, attempting comfort.

Rachel wasn't sure if she should stay any longer, but found it impossible to move from her seat. She vaguely wondered where her parents were, and if they had heard all the shouting.

Mr. Weasley was still fuming as he turned to his children, "I'm taking your mother to our room."

Not long after they left Fred spoke up, "He's such a git."

"Yeah. I've never seen dad row like that with anyone," Ron replied.

"Yeah, mum usually does the shouting," George said.

Rachel cleared her throat awkwardly and suddenly the attention was on her again.

"So, are you going to tell me what the Order of the Phoenix is?"

"Well..." Bill trailed off.

Rachel desperately tried to think of a way to get them to tell her. She had a feeling that if they knew Harry and Cedric, then they were probably like the two boys. She still wasn't exactly sure what that was, but she knew it couldn't be normal. Harry and Cedric carried sticks that they called wands that they could shoot things out of. Her mind then went to the overheard conversation. She still couldn't guess what Quidditch was, but now it somehow seemed possible that they could modify her memory if they used those... wands.

"If she's already seen part of the TriWizard tournament and what happened to Cedric, then she probably already knows about us," Ginny said.

Rachel gasped as she processed what Ginny had said. Tri_Wizard_.

"You... are all... wizards. With wands and magic?"

They all nodded reluctantly.

"Well, technically, I'm a witch," Ginny added.

Rachel sat there, dumbfounded, as she tried to process the information. She had so many question but couldn't seem to think of which to ask. When she didn't say anything Ginny continued.

"The Order of the Phoenix is a secret society that was made to fight against a very dark wizard whose name we don't speak."

"You Know Who?"Rachel guessed.

They all nodded and Bill hesitated but said, "I'm only going to say it once, so listen up."

"Voldemort," he said as quickly as he could. Everyone in the room shuddered, save Rachel, who furrowed her brows in thought.

"Why don't people speak his name?"

"Because they fear him so much," Ron said.

"Well what has he done?" Rachel asked curiously.

"He and his followers- who are called Death Eaters-" Rachel's nose scrunched up," have tortured and killed loads of people."

"Why," she asked.

"Wants to take over the Ministry, be in charge of the magical world. He's a big supporter of blood purity," Charlie replied

"Blood purity?"

"Yeah. In our world you're either a pureblood, born to two magical parents, half-blood, born to a magical parent and a muggle or muggle-born, born to two muggles," Bill explained.

"Muggle?" Rachel asked, confused.

"A non-magical person," Bill elaborated, "some people, like You Know Who and his followers, think muggle-born witches and wizards shouldn't be allowed to do magic, since they don't have magical blood."

Rachel nodded in understanding, "So what are you guys?"

"Pureblood," Ron answered.

"But... you guys don't care?" She asked, then added, "About blood, I mean."

"Nope," they all said.

Rachel nodded slowly and her eyes widened, "Wait! Doesn't that mean my mom has magical blood?"

"Your mum's a squib," Ron said.

"Squib," Rachel repeated, remembering hearing Mr. Weasley say it.

"A Squib is someone who was born into a wizarding family but hasn't got any magic powers," Ron explained.

"Oh."

"So, would you come back home with us?" Ginny asked.

Rachel's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, Bill spoke, "Forget it, Gin, Dad would never agree to that."

"Why? She knows our secret now, " Ginny said, "and she could be helpful."

"Sorry," Rachel interrupted, "but, how could I help?"

"Well the fact that you can see the future can help us with the fight against You Know Who," she said as if it were obvious. "We could see what he's going to do before it even happens."

Rachel thought about what Percy said.

"Wait. Percy said that he didn't believe that You Know Who was back. Why would he have to come back," Rachel asked.

The Weasley children looked around at each other before Bill spoke up, "Well, You Know Who started the First Wizarding War before we were even born. He took advantage of the Ministry's greatest weakness: the beings and creatures that they had outcast. He recruited giants, who had been driven by wizards into the mountains, and werewolves, who were persecuted by most witches and wizards. He also had his followers, the Death Eaters, and for a while, it seemed like he was going to win. But then he attempted to kill Harry Potter."

"That Harry?" Rachel asked, pointing to her drawing.

Bill nodded an continued, "He was only one then, but somehow the curse meant to kill him rebounded and hit You Know Who instead. That ended the first war and a lot of people believed he was dead."

"But..."

"But last year he was reborn in that graveyard you had a dream in."

"So... he's the one that killed Cedric?"

Ron answered this, "No. That was one of his Death Eaters."

"But people don't believe that it happened?"

"The Minister of Magic doesn't. He keeps telling everyone that everything's okay. Calls Dumbledore a liar and reckons that Harry's the one who killed Cedric," George spoke up.

Rachel frowned, "But he's not. I saw it."

"You try telling him that," was George's reply.

"And nobody knows why You Know Who couldn't kill Harry?"

"Nope. We grew up calling him the Boy Who Lived. Only one to ever survive the killing curse."

Rachel took a moment to absorb all of the information that was just thrown at her. She couldn't believe that there was another world out there like her own. She didn't exactly know why, but Harry kind of reminded her of Percy.

"So, do you want to help?" Ginny repeated her earlier question.

"Ginny-" Bill started again

"I'd love to help," Rachel said, " I'm just not sure how I would be able to."

"You could come back with us, " she said, "stay at the Burrow-"

"We're not going back to the Burrow," Charlie said.

"What do you mean," Ron demanded.

" In Dumbledore's letter, it told us we were gonna stay somewhere else," Charlie continued.

"Where?" Fred and George asked.

Charlie shrugged, "Headquarters of the Order. Didn't give any details."

"Then she'll go there with us," Ginny said.

"Gin," this time it was Ron who spoke, "she can't just leave her life in America to come help us. She's got friends, parents, and school..."

"She just said she'd love to help. We could modify her parents memory, make them think she's just going to stay with us for a little and she said she didn't even want to go to that dreadful school anyway. Right, Rachel?"

Rachel nodded eagerly. She really didn't. She really did want to help too. She didn't like this wizard, Voldemort, he reminded her of Kronos. If she could help her family with this by using the Oracle, she wanted to do as much as she could. She was glad she didn't have to tell them exactly what she was or how she acquired her powers.

"Yeah, that all sounds great, but Mum and Dad will never agree to let her come."

"So..." she was struggling to find an solution to this problem. She snapped and turned to Bill, "write to Dumbledore. He'll understand how helpful she could be."

Everyone stared at Ginny, though nobody tried to contradict her.

Bill sighed and shook his head, "It's never going to work," Ginny's shoulders slumped, "But I'll try."

Later that night, Ginny and Rachel sat in their room on the formers bed, talking.

"You took finding out about that well," Ginny said.

Rachel tried to look confused.

"Really, I was kind of freaking out on the inside," she lied in what she hoped was a convincing way. Not that she wasn't actually surprised when she heard she came from a family of magical people, but combine the fact that she was already suspicious of them with the fact that not much surprised her after learning that the Greek gods were real.

Rachel wished she could ask what Quidditch was, but then she'd have confess to eavesdropping.

Rachel continued, "So, you really have a wand?"

Ginny grinned, "Yeah. Want to see?"

She didn't wait for an answer and hopped off of the bed, rummaging through one of the dresser drawers until she came back with a dark colored piece of wood. She gently handed it to Rachel, who examined it closely.

"Can you show me something?"

Ginny frowned, "No, sorry. I can't do magic outside of school until I'm 17."

"Wait... Hogwarts is a magic school."

"Yeah. There are more, but that's probably the best one in Europe."

"I really hope you can come stay with us," Ginny interrupted her thoughts.

"Me too. I'd really like to help you guys," Rachel responded with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:Here's chapter 5 and 6. I'm posting two chapters now because I'm taking the SAT next weekend and I won't be able to write until after then. Thanks to everyone that reviewed followed and favorite. I REALLY appreciate them. Next chapter will definitely include more demigod related stuff. PLEASE read and review. Enjoy **

"You did _what?"_ The Weasley children flinched at their mother's tone.

"It was Ginny's idea," Ron said quickly, shrinking under the glare his sister was now sending him.

Ginny scoffed, "It's not as big a deal as you're making it."

Rachel winced at the glare that Ginny was now on the receiving end of. The former was standing in the doorway of the sitting room, surveying the scene cautiously. Not a minute ago, Bill had fulfilled the undesirable task of telling Mr. and Mrs. Weasley that he'd written Dumbledore on Rachel's behalf. As a matter of course, the two weren't very thrilled.

Rachel felt uneasy and, for lack of a better word, scared. She didn't want a repeat of what had happened only two days ago between Percy, who hadn't been seen or heard from since, and Mr. Weasley. She had never seen Mrs. Weasley look sadder. Even now, her eyes were red and puffy, indicating that she had been crying not too long ago.

"Of course it is," Mr. Weasley cried, "You're trying to bring your family into a war they don't need to be a part of. Do you know how much danger you could put her in?"

_I know what it's like to be in danger, I've already fought a war of my own,_ Rachel's argument was quite insignificant, as it was only in her head. For a fleeting moment, her thoughts wandered to Percy. If she did go with her family, what would she tell him?

Mrs. Weasley looked to Mr. Weasley, who had remained quiet during the altercation, for support, and received none, as he stared at nothing, a look of intense contemplation on his face.

Ginny spoke up again, "Mum, Rachel said she'd love to help us anyway. Right, Rachel?"

Rachel cursed Ginny silently and tried to look apologetic as she nodded in confirmation.

"That means nothing," Mrs. Weasley said, slightly hysterical, "She's just a child."

_Not with the things I've seen, _Rachel thought with a frown.

"Arthur, "Mrs. Weasley said desperately.

Mr. Weasley look at Rachel thoughtfully for a moment and then at Bill,

"What did Dumbledore have to say?"

"_Arthur !_" Mrs. Weasley cried indignantly.

The twins made a valiant effort to make their snickering inaudible, while Ginny and Charlie were openly smirking.

Bill had a look of indifference as he responded, "He responded this morning and said that he'd love to meet her, as he's never heard of a muggle with Seeing abilities."

As he said this, he handed his father what could only be the letter from Dumbledore, which the two adults began reading quietly to themselves. Mrs. Weasley looked infuriated at what the old headmaster had written, while Mr. Weasley maintained his pensive look. 

Mr. Weasley was the first to finish and broke the silence, "Kids, could you leave your mother and I alone for a few moments?"

The children complied and Ginny looked ecstatic as she strode toward Rachel, who turned to leave as well, but stopped short when Mr. Weasley spoke again,

"Not you Rachel. We'd like to have a word with you."

She turned back around, and Bill placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before he walked out, leaving her alone with the two adults.

Rachel sat down across from them, suddenly very nervous. The uncomfortable silence was deafening as she began to fidget slightly, longing for something to poke holes in her jeans with, a habit she had developed for when she was bored or nervous.

Mrs. Weasley broke the tension, "Rachel, dear..." she looked as if she were searching for the right words to say,"...it...it isn't as if we don't want you to come stay with us, it's just that... the timing... isn't ideal... and-"

Mr. Weasley took over that point, "We know that our children have probably tried to explain the situation at hand, but it's beyond your understanding how dangerous it would be for you. You-Know-Who is a very dark, powerful wizard, who will use any means to reach his goal."

"If...if he found out that you had helped us in any way- if you _can_ help us in any way... well..." Mrs. Weasley trailed off ominously.

"It..." in an instant of forgetfulness, Rachel was about to retort that dark, powerful people were, in fact, _not_ beyond her understanding, but quickly remembered that for now, to them, it was. She longed to tell them everything. They had trusted her enough to divulge their secret, so why couldn't she do the same?

_Because it's not your secret to tell,_ a voice nagged at the back of her head.

She thought for a moment, "I really would love to help you," she said earnestly, "I may be young but... I've... seen things that most people my age shouldn't have to see. Also, if something did happen to me, it'd be worth it if I were able to help you."

Mrs. Weasley looked concerned as her eyes filled with unshed tears and Mr. Weasley's brows furrowed as he eyed her with an indescribable look on his face.

Mrs. Weasley looked to her husband, "Well... I suppose if she stays at Headquarters, Dumbledore _is_ the Secret-Keeper, she'd be as safe as she could be."

Rachel gave an internal sigh of relief and smiled softly, making a mental note to ask Ginny what a Secret-Keeper was later.

"Yes. I suppose if you're alright with leaving and modifying your parents memories, then it'd be okay," Mr. Weasley said.

Rachel nodded quickly and stood from where she sat, but before exiting the room she turned to them, "Thank you."

Rachel was ambushed as soon as she opened the door. She found that the Weasley siblings, minus Percy, had gathered in her room, eager to find out whether she was allowed to come with them.

She cut them off with her hand and looked at them seriously, "They've said I can come."

The twins whooped rather loudly and Ginny squealed in delight, coming forward to hug Rachel. Bill, Charlie and Ron smiled and clapped her on the back.

Rachel felt nothing but happiness as she chatted with the six red heads. She wouldn't have to deal with her mom, dad, Dr. Arkwright, Clarion Ladies Academy... but her elation was cut short and the smile dropped off of her face as she remembered the good things she'd be leaving behind. Camp Half-Blood, Percy-

"Rachel," said girl snapped her head toward who spoke and realized that everyone was looking at her.

Ginny, who had been the one to speak, continued, "We've called you multiple times. Are you okay?"

Rachel smiled sheepishly and felt her face heat up.

"Yeah, sorry."

They eyed her suspiciously, but slowly began the conversation again. She let all thoughts of Percy leave her head and rejoined the chatter enthusiastically.


	6. Chapter 6

"Alright. Has everyone got what they need?"

Rachel was currently standing on the sidewalk outside of her home. She was still quite awed as she had just witnessed Mr. Weasley modify her parents memories. At first they had looked, understandably, confused when Arthur pulled a long stick out of his pocket during breakfast. The he said, "Obliviate." It didn't seem like it hurt, and before she knew it, they were bidding her farewell, wishing everyone a safe trip home.

Now, as Ginny had told her, they were going to 'apparate' to London. When Rachel had asked Ginny what it meant to apparate, she had said in a rather unfavorable tone that it was better she didn't know. She then muttered,

"First experience is always the worst."

Rachel was nervous to say the least.

Once Mrs. Weasley was sure that everything was in order, she looked to Ginny Rachel and Ron.

" Okay, Ron, you go with Charlie, Ginny, you'll be coming with me, and Rachel, why don't you side-along with Bill."

Rachel didn't know what that meant, but nonetheless walked over to Bill, who held his arm out towards her. She grabbed it uncertainly and the next thing she knew, everything went black. Rachel felt she was being pressed very hard from all directions. She couldn't breathe properly as she felt her chest tightening. I was an uncomfortable sensation as her eyeballs felt as if they were being forced back into her head.

She was thankful as it all ended and her feet found solid ground. Her knees gave way and she collapsed on what felt like concrete, trying with all her might to overcome the wave of nausea that hit her like a ton of bricks.

She felt someone helping her up and heard a familiar chuckle in her buzzing ears.

"See why I couldn't tell you?" Ginny said cheekily.

Rachel glared, "A little warning would have been nice."

She looked around, finally taking notice that she was standing in a small, grimy street with a row of houses that looked anything but welcoming.

Before she could continue her observation, she heard a growling, unrecognizable voice say, "Come on. We don't have all day. We can't be seen."

She looked to the source of the voice and almost gasped aloud at what she saw. The man with the growling voice had a face that looked as though it was roughly carved from wood. It was covered with scars, and to Rachel's horror, a chunk of his nose was missing. She couldn't imagine how that happened. He had dark grey, grizzled hair and a wooden leg. His eyes, however, were his most shocking feature: one was small and dark while the other was a vivid, electric blue magical eye and moved around independently from his normal eye.

"Hello Alastor," Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came forward to greet the man.

Ginny leaned toward Rachel, "That's Alastor Moody, ex-auror, " Rachel was proud that she understood what that meant, since Ginny had explained they were like the police of the wizarding world.

"Everybody usually calls him Mad-Eye, though," Bill said from behind the two girls. Rachel didn't need to ask why that was.

He hobbled over to the three of them and thrust a small piece of parchment- that's what wizards always used, according to Ginny- towards them, which Bill grabbed.

"Quickly, now. Read it and memorize it," he said, and Rachel was overcome with unease as she felt his gaze linger on her suspiciously.

Along with Ginny, she looked at the parchment, seeing curly handwriting that formed the words,

The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.

She looked up at the surrounding buildings and quickly realize that the numbering went from eleven to thirteen, skipping twelve. Before she could question it however a dark door emerged out of nowhere between numbers eleven and thirteen, followed soon by dirty walls and windows. It was as though an extra house had inflated, pushing those on either side out of its way. Rachel gaped at it, and was sure Ginny had the same reaction.

"Quickly," Mad-Eye repeated in the same low growl.

Rachel was at the end of the line of people walking into the house. As soon as she crossed the threshold and obeyed Moody's order of closing the door behind her. She suddenly got the overwhelming odor of damp, dust, and a sweetish, rotting smell. The place seemed as if it hadn't been lived in for quite a while.

"Now stay still, everyone, while I give us a bit of light in here," she heard Moody whisper. Rachel heard a soft hissing noise and then old-fashioned gas lamps sputtered into life all along the walls, casting a flickering insubstantial light over the peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpet of a long, gloomy hallway, where a chandelier covered in cobwebs glimmered overhead and age-blackened portraits hung crooked on the walls. Both the chandelier and the candelabra on a rickety table nearby were shaped like serpents.

"Alright, now everyone quiet. We don't want to wake anything up."

Rachel stopped suddenly and wondered if she even wanted to know what they could possibly wake up in here.

They were fine until, Ginny being Ginny, walked a little too fast, bumped into George, who bumped into Fred, who then ungracefully tripped and fell to the floor with a loud thud. Without warning, the curtains on a nearby portrait flew open and a horrible screeching pierced Rachel's eardrums

"_Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Blood traitors! How dare you befoul the house of my father! And what's this? A muggle! Be gone from this house, filthy mudblood!"_

Rachel knew whoever was speaking was referring to her when a muggle was mentioned as she passed the source of the commotion. As she passed, she saw that the old woman in the portrait was drooling, her eyes were rolling, the yellowing skin of her face stretched taut as she screamed. She heard footsteps coming from behind her and soon enough two men came in sight and the woman began a new round of insults.

The shorter man was a tall, well-built, darkly handsome man with fair skin, and long black hair. The tall man looked a bit shabbier and had long brown hair that seemed to be graying.

Rachel watched as they struggled and succeeded, eventually, at reclosing the curtains that had previously kept the old woman at bay. Rachel could still hear a ringing in her ears, even after the screeching stopped.

The man with long black hair straightened up and Rachel took not of his striking and tired gray eyes.

The tall man looked even more exhausted and had too many lines on his face to count. She could tell they didn't represent his age, rather his lively blue eyes did, but stress.

"I see you've all met my mother," the black haired man said.

Rachel's eyes widened and muttered to herself, "And I thought my mother was bad."

The man heard, though, but simply gave a barking laugh and continued,

"Why don't we all go down to the kitchen before she wakes again."

Rachel followed the Weasley's, who were still being led by Moody, to a very spacious kitchen with a table even longer than the one in her home set up. She took a seat next to Ginny and for the first time noticed yet another unrecognized person. This was a young female, who had bubble gum pink hair, which Rachel loved, and a bright face with violet eyes.

"Wotcher," she exclaimed once they were all seated, "I'm Nymphadora Tonks," she suddenly got serious, "but only call me Tonks."

Unfortunately for Rachel, the two men decided not to introduce themselves to the room, which told Rachel that the Weasley's already knew them.

She turned to Ginny, "Who are they?"

"Oh, you might have heard of him," she pointed to the man with black hair, "that's Sirius Black."

She was clearly waiting for Rachel to react in some way, but she only shrugged.

"What's he known for?"

"Murdering twelve people," she said nonchalantly.

Rachel gasped loud enough to draw the attention of those within the vicinity.

"What!" she exclaimed.

Ginny seemed to realize something and gasped herself, "Oh! No! He didn't actually do it. He was falsely convicted. He was in the news about two years ago because he escaped from prison. That's why I thought you'd know him."

Rachel gaped at her, "So he's still an escaped convict?"

Ginny nodded, "But perfectly innocent."

"And the other one," Rachel asked cautiously.

"Remus Lupin," she said.

"He hasn't murdered anyone, right?"

Ginny laughed, "No, but he is a werewolf."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:Hey guys! Here's chapter 7! Thanks so much to everyone that followed, favorited and I especially enjoyed reading the reviews. I really appreciate them. Enjoy and keep reviewing! :D**

"Rachel! Rachel! Wake up!"

Rachel felt herself being shaken awake and gladly accepted the escape from her dreamland. She shot up in her bed, a sheet of sweat covering her skin, panting slightly. Her heart was pounding in her ears and it took her a moment to register that she wasn't in immediate danger.

Rachel thought she would never feel so relieved to be back in the dark, gloomy room she shared with Ginny in Grimmauld Place. She had just had a particular nasty nightmare in which she was forced to relive that horrible war. They didn't happen very often, but when they did, they were vivid.

"Rachel?"

The sound of her relatives concerned voice seemed to snap Rachel out of her thoughts, reminding her of the fact that she wasn't alone.

"Oh, Ginny, I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

Rachel almost didn't see the red tint on Ginny's cheeks in the dim light, accompanied by the sheepish grin that made its way onto her face.

She chuckled embarrassedly, "No, it's fine... I was already awake."

Rachel eyed her roommate with a look of empathy. Ginny still hadn't confided in her what was disturbing her mind, but she woke Rachel in the night so frequently, that the latter assumed Ginny could only be experiencing something as bad, if not worse than herself.

"Are you alright," Rachel asked.

"Am _I _alright, "Ginny replied incredulously, "Rach, you were practically shouting in your sleep"

It was Rachel turn to turn red this time.

"You don't think anyone else heard, do you?"

"I reckon if they had, they'd be here by now," Ginny replied.

They sat in silence for a few moments and Rachel could tell that Ginny was itching to ask her something. She opened her mouth a few times, then reconsidered what she would say, and closed it again. Finally, Ginny interrupted the long held silence and said,

"Was it... was it another vision? Should I get mum and dad?"

Rachel sighed, "No, it wasn't a vision. I was just... remembering something."

Ginny looked a bit distressed at this, "Well, do you want to talk about it?"

Rachel hesitated. She did. She wanted to tell her everything since they had gotten to Grimmauld Place and although she knew that the longer she took to tell the Weasley's, the worst the aftermath would be. They had spilled their secret, why couldn't she do the same.

She gave an internal sigh of defeat and looked back at Ginny, "No, thanks though. I think I'll just go down to the kitchen and get some water," she stood up from the bed, "you should probably try and get some sleep."

Ginny nodded and rose from Rachel's bed, returning to her own, muttering along the way, "Just don't forget to be quiet around that bloody portrait. I don't think I can take that screeching anymore."

Rachel chuckled as she exited the room, closing the door as softly as she could behind her. She tiptoed down the creepy, seemingly haunted hallways, wary of each step she took, wincing at every creak and groan.

She huffed in relief as she finally reached her destination and made her way to the old sink, grabbing a glass and filled it with the oddly colored water. Rachel's face twisted in disgust and she was about to empty it when she heard,

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you. Wouldn't trust anything that came out of this house. Hasn't been lived in for years."

Rachel tensed and slowly turned to see that man, Sirius Black, sitting at the far end of the dining table. He looked tired, exhausted even. He had sunken eyes that seemed haunted in some way, making Rachel feel extremely uneasy. She had only been in this house, which Ginny informed her Sirius owned, two days and had yet to say anything to him. She knew she shouldn't be afraid of him, considering Ginny had told her he was innocent of what everyone was under the impression he did, however, she couldn't help but feel unsettled around him.

"Unless of course you want me to clean it for you," he said holding up his wand.

That seemed to wake Rachel from her trance, "Oh, no, it's fine. I don't want to intrude-"

"Nonsense. Come, take a seat," Sirius cut the red head off, motioning to the seat across from him.

Rachel emptied the glass and made her way towards him, regretting that she even went down there. She sat down stiffly and tried to recall another moment in her life that she had felt this uncomfortable.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," he said extending his hand toward her, "Sirius Black."

She took his calloused hand and shook quickly, "Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

He considered her for a moment before speaking again.

"I get the sense that you don't like me very much."

Rachel's eyes widened impossibly and she didn't respond right away, caught off guard by his abruptness.

"I-I..." she stuttered.

"What have you heard about me?"

She said nothing.

"Oh, never mind. I know exactly what you've heard." He seemed to be having the conversation with himself now and Rachel couldn't help but notice that he seemed a bit put down. Not spiteful, bitter, or angry. Just sad.

Rachel sighed softly and closed her eyes. She was wrong about assuming what the Weasley's would be like, perhaps she was wrong about Sirius as well.

"I've been told that you're innocent."

His head snapped up and he looked her straight in the eyes.

"Do you believe it?"

"Well... I don't exactly know the whole story, but I suppose if everyone else does, then I should too."

The ghost of a grin came upon his face and he replied," You'll have to forgive me, but I am rather curious as to why you are here."

Rachel felt her face heat up and she seemed to be unable to form words, "I- well... I'm here to...-"

"Don't misunderstand, it's an honor to have you here, really," Rachel smiled softly, "but it is to my knowledge that you are a muggle, and it's not often that a muggle gets involved in these types of things."

"Yes, well it's a rather long story," she replied.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

Rachel genuinely smiled at that and found that yet again, it was likely that she had been quick to judge.

"Alright. Deal."

So she told him everything that had happened since the Weasley's came to her house at the beginning of that fateful summer. It felt oddly alleviating finally being able to discuss everything that had happened, and it helped that Sirius was a good listener. He listened intently and asked a few questions here and there, apparently quite interested in Rachel's abilities. She noticed when she described her vision with Harry and Cedric, he seemed a bit off. Rachel vaguely wondered if he knew them too.

"It was quite brave of you to come here to help your family, knowing the consequences," he complimented at the end of her tale.

Rachel smiled, flattered.

"Now, before I begin my unbelievable story, I'd like to ask if they are why you are down here," he said.

"Your visions," he clarified, "did you have another one of them tonight?"

She shook her head, "No. Just... bad dream," she looked down to her lap in embarrassment.

"I've had my fair share of those," he muttered.

Before she could even think of what she was saying, she looked back up to him,

"Is that why your down here too?"

He considered her for a moment with a look on his face that Rachel couldn't decipher. When he didn't respond, Rachel spoke quickly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No, it's fine... yes it is. Twelve years in Azkaban will do that to you."

"Azkaban?"

Sirius' entire mood changed, "Wizarding prison. Terrible place to be. The guards there are creatures called Dementors. Nasty things, they are. They feed off of your happy memories and bring back the worst. The one's you had thought you'd forgotten."

Rachel was slightly horrified. Twelve years of reliving your worst memories and having the best one's sucked right out of your mind.

"That's..."

"Yeah," he said understandingly, "most people go mad in that place."

"And you didn't?"

He shook his head, "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't take it from me... but it kept me sane and knowing who I was... and I should mention now that I'm an Animagus."

"Animagus," Rachel repeated slowly.

She was confused as Sirius stood from his chair, but it soon turned to shock as the man standing before her transformed into a dog. A big, black, shaggy dog stood right where Sirius had been a second before. She watched, amazed, as he turned back and sat down once again.

"Amazing," she said, "and that helped you with the Dementors?"

He nodded, "When it all became too much... I could transform in my cell. Dementors can't see, you know..." He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions... They could tell that my feelings were less - less human, less complex when I was a dog... but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them."

It seemed to be getting more and more difficult for him to continue.

"And you escaped?"

He smirked slightly, "First one to do so."

"Why after twelve years though?" she asked curiously.

"I realized my godson was in danger."

"Godson?"

He nodded, "Harry."

Rachel froze, "Wait. Harry? As in the Harry..."

"From your vision?" he finished for her, "Yes, I believe so."

"You see, that's where _my_ story comes in."

He then went on to tell Rachel the most complex story full of insane plot twists and extremely terrible misunderstandings. She couldn't miss the burning hatred in Sirius' intense grey eyes when he spoke of Peter Pettigrew. He couldn't be blamed of course, Rachel felt it too, considering he was the reason Sirius had suffered for twelve years and that he wasn't proven innocent the summer he escaped.

Rachel also had new feelings towards Harry, who she hadn't even met yet. Sirius had explained briefly his relationship with Harry's deceased parents, but Rachel could tell just from that, how important they were to him. She could see that the fact that he had convinced them to switch Secret-Keepers ate at him. He seemed to think it was his own fault that Peter had betrayed them.

The unexpected and extremely personal conversation Rachel had with Sirius that night had been quite enjoyable for both parties. A newfound relationship had formed where Rachel had thought it impossible to be.

As they were both headed to the exit, Rachel turned to Sirius one last time.

"I believe it," she said.

"What, " he asked.

"That you're innocent."

A rare smile formed on his face and she saw that his eyes were filled with amusement, the first time she had seen absolutely no trace of the haunted look he so frequently had.

"Good night," he said.

"Night," Rachel replied, leaving the kitchen and beginning her cautious walk back to her and Ginny's room.

It was the next morning, when Rachel was getting dressed that she had received the IM from Percy. Thankfully, Ginny had already headed down to the kitchen for breakfast and she had the door locked.

She had just pulled her shirt over her head when she heard someone clear their throat.

Rachel froze and turned slowly towards the source of the disturbance. She nearly jumped a foot in the air when she was met with the face of her best friend, who was red in the face, giving the girl a nervous smile. In the background, it was clear to Rachel that he was in the Poseidon cabin.

"Percy, how long have you been there?"

"Well, I... I didn't know you were... I didn't see any-"

Rachel could barely contain her laughter as she watched Percy stumble over his words.

"Percy, it's fine. What's up?"

The raven haired boy recovered quickly and his mood changed immediately from embarrassed to angered.

"_What's up?!_" Rachel winced at his hostile tone. She had completely overlooked that there might be people that would look for her if she suddenly left, "Rachel, I've been worried sick about you!"

His volume was slowly rising and Rachel knew that if she didn't want anyone in the house to hear that she was talking to someone else, she'd have to shut him up soon.

"Percy, it's fine. I'm fine," she reasoned with the demigod.

"It's not fine-!"

"Shhh!" she hushed him incredulously, "I don't need anyone else to hear us.

"Rachel, where are you, " Percy asked, fortunately, quieter than before.

"I'm with my family," she replied.

"Yeah, I know."

Her brows furrowed, "How do you-"

"I went to your house again yesterday, to see if everything was okay with your relatives. Imagine my surprise when your parents answered the door, completely okay with the fact that their daughter, who he _barely_ lets out of the house, had gone to London with her relatives."

"Yeah, I know, it's sudden-"

"Of course it's sudden. What about camp? You said you would come back if they left. We need you here," he said loudly again.

"Percy, I will break the connection if you do not _lower your voice_," she threatened, "I know that camp needs me... but... I think that they need me more right now."

Percy gave her an astonished look," The last time we talked, you said you were suspicious of them, that there was definitely something up."

"Yeah, well, I was wrong," she lied.

They were silent for a few moments.

"So...you're staying there?" Percy asked slowly.

"For now... yeah..." she responded unsurely.

He sighed, "You're sure you're okay?"

She smiled and nodded, "Positive."

"Okay... just keep in touch. You still have those drachmas I gave you, right?"

"Yes."

"And you'll contact me if you need anything?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later," he said, though she could tell that he didn't want to, in farewell.

"Bye," Rachel responded.

She broke the connection and heaved a sigh. She also wished she could tell Percy about magic and where she was and what she was helping her family with, but she was sure the Weasley's wouldn't appreciate that.

She strode across the room to the door, determined to go down to breakfast before anyone noticed her long absence.

She swung open the door and her eyes widened impossibly at what she was met with. Two red headed twins and their sister had their ears hanging in the air where the door had been.

They straightened up and look at her with suspicion,

Ginny looked her in the eye and said seriously, "Who were you just talking to?"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here's chapter 8! I hope you guys are enjoying this story as much as I am. I'm actually very proud of this story. Thanks to everyone who reviewed followed and faved. Please review and tell me what you think.**

Rachel groaned internally as she contemplated just how she would answer Ginny's question. She silently cursed Percy for getting so loud and catching the attention of her too inquisitive relatives. She knew she had only a few moments before her roommate became impatient, and yet her mind couldn't form a false idea that would satisfy them. She didn't have a phone on her and she didn't want to seem crazy and say she was talking to herself.

Rachel didn't think before she spoke next,"What do you mean? I haven't been talking to anyone." She hoped her voice conveyed enough confusion to convince them.

Not surprising to Rachel, Ginny scoffed incredulously and even looked a bit annoyed.

"We just heard you talking!"

Fred spoke up to support his sisters accusations, "We also heard another voice."

"So who was it then?"George finished.

They all looked at Rachel expectantly, but she didn't break and continued to feign ignorance.

"I was just getting ready. There's no one else in here to talk to," she backed out of the doorway in an attempt to prove her point. All three siblings looked in cautiously and Ginny even took a few steps in.

"We heard someone," she said adamantly, looking perplexed.

Before anyone could say anymore, Mrs. Weasley appeared behind her sons, looking flustered.

"There you all are! Breakfast is on the table and Hermione's waiting in the kitchen."

"Hermione's here?" Ginny asked, their disagreement momentarily forgotten.

"Yes. She just arrived this morning," her mother replied.

Rachel was thankful for the distraction and took that moment to exit the room, feeling three very suspicious gazes on her as she followed Mrs. Weasley down the stairs.

Truthfully, she was eager to meet Hermione. According to Ginny, she was Ron's best friend and as much of a know it all as Annabeth. Plus, she'd be staying in her and Ginny's room for the rest of the summer, so Rachel was hopeful that she had as sincere of a personality as Ginny said she did.

When she walked into the kitchen, Rachel was met with a sight that made her gasp aloud. She had never seen anything like it. It was some some sort of creature, smaller than a human with a bulbous, snout-like nose, bloodshot eyes, many folds of skin, and bat like ears with tufts of white hair sticking out. It was wearing something that looked like a pillowcase.

It slouched over as it dragged itself past Rachel and towards the door. She heard him mutter darkly, "What would mistress say if she saw Kreacher serving such mudblood scum?"

Rachel continued to stare after it dumbly until a foreign voice addressed her,

"Have you never seen a house-elf before?"

She turned toward the source and thought of how perfectly Ginny's description matched the girl in front of her.

She had light skin, dark brown eyes and her bushy brown hair was tied back in a plait. She looked slightly amused at Rachel's reaction to Kreacher

Rachel gave her a slight smile,"Is that what that was?"

She returned the smile and nodded, "I'm Hermione. You must be Rachel. Ron and Ginny have mentioned you in their letters."

"All good things I hope," she joked.

Hermione seemed to hesitate before speaking again. She lowered her voice a bit and said,"Is it true you can see the future?"

Rachel nodded uncertainly and Hermione's eyes lit up. It was clear to Rachel that she was burning to ask thousands of different questions, eager for knowledge.

"And you're a muggle? You can't do magic?"

Rachel nodded again and began to feel slightly uncomfortable with having all of Hermione's attention on her. She decided to change the subject.

"So, what exactly are house-elves?"

A new fire lit in Hermione's eyes and she had a look of what Rachel could only describe as disgust on her face.

"A more fitting word for them would be slaves," she said, "They serve wizarding families and most are treated horribly. I've started an organization for them, actually, called The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. It'd be amazing if you could join. It's dedicated to-"

"Hermione!"

Rachel silently sighed in relief and thanked any god that was listening that Ginny had interrupted. Definitely like Annabeth, she thought. She did think, however, that they would get along just fine.

Ginny and Hermione embraced and began chattering to each other and Rachel sat down at the empty table, serving herself breakfast.

Soon people began filing in, first Fred and George, who were still looking at her weirdly, then Bill and Charlie, who she had learned would be leaving for Romania in a few days, to recruit or something.

Sirius walked in next and memories from last night filled her mind. He smiled at her, which she genuinely returned and to her surprise, he sat down next to her. He began talking to her as if she was an old friend, which elicited a few odd glances their way from the occupants of the room.

"You'll be meeting Dumbledore tonight," he said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

He nodded,"He'll be here for the Order meeting," he explained, "No way Molly's letting you go, but he'll want to speak to you, one way or another."

Rachel nodded and hoped that her expression didn't reveal the unmistakable nervousness she was feeling. From everything she had heard about Dumbledore, she knew he was an intelligent man. What if he saw her for what she was and told everyone she had lied?

She shook those thought from her head as Hermione and Ginny sat down across from her, now inviting her to join their conversation. Rachel was relieved and took this as a sign that Ginny had, for the most part, forgotten about their encounter this morning. She hoped that nothing else like that would happen to add to her relatives growing suspicion. She had just gotten here and she was sure she didn't want to leave just yet.

Later that night, Rachel, Ginny and Hermione were forced upstairs and into their room by Mrs. Weasley as various Order members started arriving through the front door. Mrs. Black's portrait must have been set off at least fifty times and by now, Ginny was laying on her bed, holding her pillow tightly over her ears. Rachel couldn't blame her; they got the worst of it, as their room was the closest.

Judging by the muffled protests she could hear through the door, Fred, George and Ron were very against the idea of being kept away from the Order meeting. Mr. Weasley was having none of it however and Rachel could hear her herding her sons into the room down the hall.

"Ginny?" Hermione broke the silence.

Said girl took the pillow of her head and gave Hermione a look hat signaled her to continue.

"Has anybody said anything about Harry staying here?"

Rachel gave Ginny an inconspicuous look that asked if Hermione was talking about _that_ harry. Ginny noticed and gave her fellow red head a slight nod and then turned her attention back to Hermione, who, thankfully, hadn't noticed the exchange.

"I heard mum and dad say something about Dumbledore wanting him to stay at his aunt and uncles."

As Ginny said this, her face seemed to twist in disgust. Hermione seemed slightly surprised.

"The _whole_ summer?" Hermione asked disbelievingly.

Ginny nodded, "Mum and dad seemed very against it, but they're not going to argue with Dumbledore."

Rachel found something odd about all of this. She knew Harry parents were dead, but why was it so bad that he stayed with his aunt and uncle? And if it was, why did Dumbledore want him to?

"Why shouldn't Harry stay with his family?" Rachel voice her thoughts.

Both girls looked at her as if just remembering that she wasn't as familiar with Harry's life.

Ginny was the first to respond,"They're muggles."

"That hate magic," Hermione elaborated.

"They treat him horribly," Ginny finished.

"Why does he stay there then?"

"'Dumbledore has his reasons'," Ginny said with air quotes, "That's all they ever say. Total rubbish, if you ask me."

Rachel's respect level for Dumbledore lowered, not that she had much for him, considering she hadn't met him yet. She wasn't sure how she should interpret Ginny's use of the word horribly, but it was enough to slightly anger her roommate. She didn't really even know Harry, yet it still annoyed her that he was kept there if they knew he wasn't being treated properly.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. It opened to reveal a slightly irate Mrs. Weasley.

"Rachel, Hermione, could you please come with me?"

Rachel shared a confused look with Hermione and Ginny. She was sure the meeting was still going on. Nonetheless, they rose from their beds and stepped towards the door. Ginny seemed as if she wanted to protest but the look her mother sent her immediately made her shut her mouth.

Rachel became even more confused when she walked out and saw that Ron would be joining them. He looked just as in the dark as Hermione and Rachel as they followed Mrs. Weasley towards the kitchen.

When Rachel entered the room, she saw that the long table that usually had many empty seats during meals was full of witches and wizards unrecognizable to her. People she did recognize was Sirius, who was sitting across from Remus Lupin, the werewolf. Then she saw the girl with bright pink hair, Tonks, who hadn't visited the house since the day they arrived. Mr. Weasley was sitting across from Moody, whose magical eye whizzed towards them on arrival. At the head of the table was, Rachel guessed, Professor Dumbledore. She didn't know what she was expecting but it certainly wasn't this.

He was thin, with the longest silver hair and beard Rachel had ever seen. It looked as if it could be tucked into his belt. He had a long, crooked nose that looked as if it had been broken several times. His eyes were a brilliant shade of blue that Rachel thought could pierce her soul. They twinkled slightly when he caught sight of them with what Rachel could only describe as kindness. He wore half-moon spectacles and a set of bright purple robes. The man that stood beside him couldn't have looked anymore different than the bright eyed headmaster.

He was a thin man with sallow skin and a large, hooked nose. He was dressed in flowing black robes which made Rachel decide he looked like an overgrown bat. He had shoulder-length, greasy black hair which framed his face in curtains, curling lips and dark, and penetrating eyes that she noticed were staring straight at her.

She couldn't help but make eye contact. When she did, she felt a sort of tugging at the back of her mind. It was foreign feeling but what came next wasn't.

She tried valiantly to hide her terror as she felt the spirit within her come forward. This couldn't happen now, not in this room full of people, she thought. But it didn't come. The only thing she felt was the tugging slightly lessen. She was still looking at the dark man across the room, who now looked slightly confused.

She was thankful when he broke their eye contact and the tugging disappeared completely, at the same time, thankfully, feeling the Oracle recede inside her. He leant down close to Dumbledore's ear and whispered something and Rachel had the sinking feeling of dread that it was about her.

Dumbledore nodded to the man and stood from the table of people the were now staring at the three new additions to the room. He walked towards them and smiled kindly.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley," he greeted Hermione and Ron before turning toward Rachel.

"Miss Dare, I presume," he said, holding out his hand.

She shook it politely and smile slightly at the old man.

"I was hoping we could all have a word in the sitting room?"

They followed behind him, wondering what he wanted to talk to the three of them about. Once they were settled, Dumbledore turned toward the trio, but only seemed to be focusing on Ron and Hermione.

"Now," he began,"I'm not sure if you have heard, but it is my intention to keep Harry in the residence of his aunt and uncle for the time until term starts."

Ron clearly didn't know this and seemed a bit peeved, but Dumbledore continued before he could say anything.

"I know, as his friends, you two must have your reservations about this, but I can assure you, I have my reasons for doing so."

Rachel cringed inwardly as Dumbledore himself used the excuse Ginny told her about.

"Now," he continued when he was sure no one would interrupt,"Although you may protest, I believe it would be in everybody's best interest if you were to not inform Harry of what has been going on."

"That's rubbish!" Ron said angrily.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded him.

"No," Ron said looking at her. He leaned in and made his voice quieter,"He wants to keep him in the dark. Harry has a right to know."

Rachel even agreed and was slightly taken aback at the professors suggestion. Dumbledore, hearing what Ron had said, spoke,

"I agree with you, Mr. Weasley, young Harry does have a right to know, however, that does not mean he should."

Ron still didn't look convinced, but it seemed as if he knew he really didn't have a choice.

"I need you both to swear to me that you will tell Harry nothing of this."

Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, seeming reluctant, but came to some sort of agreement.

"We swear," Hermione said finally, Ron nodding next to her.

Rachel felt bad for them, knowing that they didn't really want to exclude Harry, and was slightly confused as to why she was invited to join this conversation.

Dumbledore nodded gratefully at them, "Thank you both. Now if you will excuse me I would like to have a word alone with Miss Dare."

Ron and Hermione both bade her farewell, both still looking slightly upset, and exited the room. She fidgeted nervously when her and Dumbledore were left alone, waiting for the latter to speak.

"Miss Dare," he began,"it is most unusual that someone like you that is non-magical, should have Seeing abilities."

He observed her carefully before speaking again, "In his letter, Mr. Weasley said that you were unaware of the origin of these visions and that they had only started at the beginning of the summer. Is this correct?"

"Yes, sir," she responded as confidently as she could.

He looked pensive,"I have yet to come up with any explanation that could help us better understand your situation, but believe me, I will look very hard into it."

Rachel tried to give him a grateful smile, but she was hopeful that he wouldn't dig too deep.

"I am curious about one thing though," he said.

She looked at him questioningly.

" I wonder why Professor Snape could not perform Legilimency on you."

"Who is Professor Snape?" she asked, despite already having an idea,"And Legilimency, sir?" She had no idea what that was.

"Oh, forgive me dear, Professor Snape was the man standing beside me earlier."

He confirmed her suspicion, but what was Legilimency, and why was he trying to perform it on her?

" And Legilimency is the act of magically navigating through the many layers of a person's mind," he answered the former question.

She couldn't help but let her jaw go slack. _He had tried to read her mind? _Was that what the tugging feeling in her head. And in that moment a rare thankfulness to the Oracle formed in her. That was why it had come forward; it was protecting her memories.

"I regret to inform you that I was the one that requested him to do such a thing. This is a very protected place and I want to be sure that I can completely trust every person in it."

His argument made sense, but she was still slightly irritated.

"Well sir, I couldn't tell you why he couldn't perform it on me." She lied convincingly.

Dumbledore nodded slightly , his eyes twinkling.

"Understandable," he rose from his seat,"It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Dare. I hope you are able to help our fight. If you have a vision, do not hesitate to tell someone in the Order."

She nodded and smiled, "Nice to meet you too, Professor." She wasn't sure if she meant it though.

A week after her conversation with Dumbledore, Rachel had her first vision at Grimmauld Place. Like last time, she knew it was happening as she fell asleep.

_She was standing in a dark room. It was similar to the sitting room in Sirius' house decorated with dark colors, mostly green, silver snakes carved into every piece of furniture she could see. The difference was, this sitting room was much larger and was far cleaner than the one at Grimmauld Place._

_She noticed that she wasn't alone. There was a woman standing a few feet in front of her, and Rachel was immediately reminded of Professor Snape._

_She looked like she could have been beautiful, but right now, she looked like a mess. she was tall with long, thick shiny dark hair, very frizzy, thin lips, heavily-lidded eyes, and a strong jaw. Her face looked gaunt and skull-like, and Rachel couldn't help but notice an almost psychotic glint in her dark eyes. The woman fidgeted slightly, giving Rachel the impression that she was nervously waiting for something, or someone._

_It was clear to Rachel that this woman was a witch. Not only was she dressed like one, but there was the unmistakable silhouette of a wand in her hand._

_After a few moments, the door suddenly swung open, causing the woman in front of her to jump._

_Rachel gasped and got a very bad feeling when she saw the... man... that joined them in the room. He had pale white skin, a very thin body, and dark scarlet eyes with cat-like slits for pupils. His face resembled a skull, with snake-like slits for nostrils, and long, thin hands with unnaturally long fingers. _

_Rachel was truly terrified._

_His presence sent the woman to her knees._

_"My lord," she said, still on the floor._

_"Rise, Bellatrix," she obeyed._

_"My lord, what is it that you wish me to do?" Bellatrix asked._

_It was then that she noticed that he was holding a cup. It looked very valuable, like a pure gold goblet with very intricate designs etched into it, giving it an elegant appearance._

_"Bellatrix, I had promised that I would reward you for your loyalty to me," Bellatrix seemed as if she was shaking with excitement,"so, I give you the most important task, that I would trust no one else with."_

_"Yes, my lord," she hissed, ecstatic._

_"I need you to his this in the Lestrange vault. It is vital that nobody finds this. If they do, we could potentially lose this war."_

_Rachel wondered what was so important about this cup. Apparently, so did Bellatrix._

_"M-my lord. Why must we hide it?"_

_He seemed a bit irritated by her question. _

_"Do not question me. It is no matter."_

_Bellatrix seemed a bit frightened "As you wish, my lord."_

_The vision began to fade as Rachel woke up. She sat up slowly, eyes widening as she thought about what she saw. She had just had her first vision of Lord Voldemort._


	9. Chapter 9

Rachel was looking for an Order member.

Right after she got out of bed, careful not to wake Ginny or Hermione, she decided she would follow Dumbledore's previous instruction and find someone to share her vision with. Problematically, it was about two in the morning and she could only think of one person that might be awake at this hour.

When she walked into the kitchen, Sirius, as she had hoped, was sitting at the table, a drink in one hand and his wand in the other. He looked a bit angry and she hesitated, wondering if she should wait till morning to tell someone.

Unfortunately, he spotted her before she could make a decision. She was glad to see, however, that when he saw her, the anger faded from his feature and his face lit up.

"Rachel!" he said, "to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Rachel made her way toward him and took the seat across from him.

"Well, I had a vision-"

"Was it about Harry?" he cut her off anxiously.

She shook her head,"It was about You Know Who."

He looked down,"I'm sorry, it's just... what with Dumbledore keeping him at his Aunt and Uncle's and not being able to write much to him... I'm worried."

Rachel instantly felt bad for him and Harry. She, again, sensed her dislike for Dumbledore growing. It seemed clear to Rachel now that Sirius loved Harry; Mrs. Weasley seemed fond of him, not to mention his best friends were here. She didn't think there could be any reason for Harry to stay somewhere he wasn't liked.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Sirius speaking again,

"I'll contact Dumbledore, no doubt he'll want to hear this as well."

He left before she could stop him, mumbling something about the fireplace in the sitting room.

She was sitting alone at the kitchen table for a few minutes before Sirius entered once again, this time Dumbledore trailing behind him.

"Miss Dare, Sirius has told me that you had a vision about Lord Voldemort," he inquired as they sat down. She was shocked at the casual way he mentioned the name she thought everybody feared.

Rachel nodded and began describing to both men what happened in the dream. She didn't fail to notice that Sirius' entire demeanor changed when she mentioned Bellatrix. He seemed slightly nervous and Rachel wondered if he had known her. Conversely, Dumbledore's expression betrayed no emotion as he listened to her tale.

When she was done, the professor looked pensive while Sirius looked nervous.

"I assure you, Miss Dare, I do not know the significance of the cup you've seen, though I'd like you to know that you've done a great service for the Order," Dumbledore said,"Now, if you'll excuse us, I'd like to discuss this matter further with Sirius."

Rachel thought she had a right to be present when her own visions were discussed, but she knew better than to argue. She gave Sirius a slight smile in farewell which he returned halfheartedly, still looking tense.

She didn't give Dumbledore a second glance as she stood and walked out of the kitchen, quietly tiptoeing back to her own room.

Rachel quietly closed the door behind her, thankful to hear the soft snores of Ginny and Hermione. She'd tell them about her vision in the morning.

She lay on her bed, thinking intently about Bellatrix, the cup and Voldemort until her eyelids began to droop and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

Rachel was happy.

She couldn't remember a time living in her own home that she ever felt this good. Maybe even in her entire life. Sure, Percy made her happy and she loved being around him, but this, somehow, was different.

She finally felt at home, like she now has a family worth having; one they accepted her for who she was. This was not limited to the Weasley's. Hermione and her had got on just as good as she thought they would and Sirius proved to be a very good listener of she ever had a nightmare or just needed to talk about something.

Currently, she was lying on one of the couches in the sitting room next to Ginny. Ron and hermione were sat next to them, while Fred and George were in the floor playing a game they told Rachel was called Exploding Snap. They were all joking and talking about one thing or another and Rachel felt completely at ease. That is until Mrs. Weasley came rushing into the room, looking agitated.

"You've all got to go straight upstairs and into your rooms."

"Why mum? There's not supposed to be an Order meeting tonight," Ginny said. That was the rule. Whenever there was an Order, meeting, the 'children' were to go up to there rooms and stay there until Mrs. Weasley herself gave the okay.

They didn't follow it of course. After two meetings, the Twins had invented the 'Extendable Ears', which still amazed Rachel. She remembered, though, when Mrs. Weasleys had found out about them. She went absolutely berserk; Rachel couldn't remember a time she had seen Mrs. Weasley angrier. They hadn't used them much since then, but from the few times they did, Rachel found out that the Order was definitely trying to keep something safe. All they talked about half the time was guard duty.

Behind Mrs. Weasley, they could see out in the hallway a bunch of witches and wizards, some Rachel recognized, some she didn't, rushing toward the front door.

"What are they doing?" Ron asked loudly.

One of the more excited wizards looked into the room, "We're Harry Potter's guard."

_His guard?_

Mrs. Weasley sent the man a glare that Rachel did not want to be on the receiving end of.

"His guard?" Ron asked incredulously,"what does that even mean? Why does Harry need a guard?"

"What's happened mum?" Ginny joined in, sounding just as nervous as everyone looked.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley looked as if she were speaking against her better judgement, "it seems as if Harry is coming here after all."

"Really," Ron said excitedly. Rachel was happy once again that Harry would finally have a chance to be here, but also had a bad feeling he wasn't coming under good circumstances.

Just then Rachel could hear the unmistakable shouting of Sirius, which, as a matter of course, set of the shrieking portrait of Mrs. Black.

Suddenly, him and Lupin were standing in the hallway for Rachel to see, still yelling over Sirius' mother's ear splitting screams.

"I'm going," Sirius said adamantly.

"No, Sirius,"Lupin sounded irritated,"It's too dangerous. You're staying here."

Sirius' volume rose,"My godson's just been attacked by dementors-!"

"Harry's been attacked by dementors?" Ron's panicked voice brought both men's attention to the room.

Rachel felt a similar sense of dread as she remembered her and Sirius' first conversation when he had explained the effects of a dementor. Though, she was also confused as she recalled Sirius telling her that they guarded the wizard prison, Azkaban. So what was one doing attacking Harry and why?

"Yes!" Sirius exclaimed,"And now the Ministry is trying to expel him."

"What?"several people demanded at once, Rachel being one of them. She couldn't fathom how a school would expel a student for being attacked.

"Alright, that's enough," Mrs. Weasley demanded, "all of you, _up to your rooms_!"

There was no room for argument as the six of them rose from there positions and walked up to Ron's room, Fred and George heading for their own.

When they walked in, Hermione immediately exclaimed, "Hedwig!" And ran over to the window, where Rachel could see a snowy white owl with large round amber eyes sitting on the sill with two pieces of parchment tied to its leg. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that they used owls to communicate. IM's and phones were much easier and quicker.

Hermione untied the letters and handed one to Ron.

"That's Harry' owl," Ginny said to Rachel.

Rachel was curious,"What do they say?" She asked.

Ron answered her, "I've just been attacked by dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm getting out of here."

Hermione groaned,"Oh, he's probably furious with us. There's just no way they can expel him. I'm sure of it." She walked determinedly toward the bookshelf and began digging through the various dusty books.

"Why would they even want to expel him?" Rachel asked anybody.

Hermione answered,"Chances are, Harry used the Patronus charm to fight off the dementors. He's underage, which means he's not allowed to do magic outside of school."

"But he was attacked." Didn't that count for anything?

"Exactly," Hermione said, opening an old book.

"At least he's coming here," she heard Ron mumbled as he sat on his bed.

Rachel sat down next to where Ginny had put herself in the floor.

A sudden thought came to her,

"Hey Ginny?"

"Yeah?"

"What's going to happen when you go to school?"

"What do you mean," she asked confused.

"Well I can't exactly go with you..."

She contemplated this for a moment,"Well, I suppose you'll stay at the Burrow with mum and dad."

Not that she didn't love Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, but she thought she'd be extremely bored without her, the twins, Ron and Hermione.

She was about to speak again when Hermione exclaimed, "I knew it!"

She shut the book and put it on the shelf. "There's provision in the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations that will stop them," she said to no one in particular.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before the door started to creak open. Suddenly Hermione launched herself toward the person and tackled them in a hug that nearly knocked them flat.

"HARRY! Ron, he's here, Harry's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how _are _you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless — but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got to tell us — the dementors! When we heard— it's just outrageous, I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's provision in the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations —"

Rachel was taken aback not by Hermione's interrogation, but with the person she was hugging. She had known he was coming, but she couldn't help freezing up when she caught sight of him.

Her mind immediately flashed back to the vision she had had about him and Cedric. He looked slightly older now, but she'd recognize him anywhere.

The second thing she noticed was how similar he seemed to Percy in this light. He had untidy black hair and and almond shaped eyes that were a startling green while he wore round glasses. He was tall and skinny and Rachel's attention was immediately caught by the oddly shaped scar that resembled a bolt of lightning on his forehead.

Abruptly, her thoughts wandered to Percy. She hadn't talked to the demigod since he IM'd her last and she felt guilty. She felt as if she were abandoning him, as if she were abandoning the camp. She had a duty as the Oracle, and she wasn't doing a great job of fulfilling it. If someone back at camp needed a prophecy for a quest or something, they'd be out of luck, because she was with a bunch of wizards. She felt selfish.

Her mind was bought back to the present as she got a splitting pain in her head. It was so sudden that she grabbed her head and gasped out loud. It was then that she noticed that Harry had moved closer to her and he was now looking at Rachel weirdly.

"Rachel, what's wrong?" Ginny asked, moving closer to her relative.

She saw Harry step closer as well and the pain intensified . She rubbed her temples furiously and gave Ginny a reassuring smile that she figured probably looked more like a grimace.

"Just a headache," she managed," I'm gonna go back to our room to lie down."

"Yeah, sure," Ginny said, looking concerned.

Rachel left the room as quickly as she could, hoping she didn't run into anyone. By the time she made it back to her room, the pain lessened and it almost felt like nothing at all. This confused her. Was Harry causing her pain, and if so, why? She stayed true to her word and lay down on her bed, not bothering to undress. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, quickly slipping into unconsciousness.

Summer flew by quickly at Grimmauld Place. Most days were spent cleaning various rooms with the Weasley children plus Hermione and Harry on the orders of Mrs. Weasley. The others moaned and groaned that they couldn't use magic to do it, but Rachel didn't mind since that was the only way she knew.

She, personally, had spent most of her days avoiding Harry like the plague. He was, in fact, the cause if her headaches, which she still couldn't explain. She hadn't once talked to him since he arrived and every once in a while she'd catch him giving her odd glances.

Today was his hearing at the Ministry and Rachel had heard everybody talking about nothing but that all day.

She was now sitting at the kitchen table with Ginny, Ron, Fred, George and Hermione, who were trying to reassure each other that the Ministry wouldn't expel Harry. Mrs. Weasley was cooking while Sirius and Lupin were sitting at the other end of the table.

Suddenly, Harry walked into the room and all conversation stopped and everyone caught their breath anxiously, staring at him expectantly.

"Cleared of all charges."

"I knew it!" Ron exclaimed. "You always get away with stuff !"

"They were bound to clear you," said Hermione, who had looked positively faint with anxiety when Harry had entered the kitchen and was now holding a shaking hand over her eyes. "There was no case against you, none at all. . . ."

Rachel felt very happy that Harry got off, but the moment he entered the room, the pain she had become accustomed to formed in her head. She winced slightly, but knew if she got up to leave now, it would be questioned.

"Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering they all knew I'd get off," said Harry, smiling.

Fred, George, and Ginny began to do some sort of war dance to a chant that went "He got off, he got off, he got off —" It was annoying enough to increase the already pounding headache Rachel had.

"That's enough, settle down!" shouted Mr. Weasley, but even he was smiling. "Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry —"

Rachel had never heard that name before, but by Mr. Weasley's tone of voice, it probably wasn't someone she'd like

"What?" said Sirius sharply.

"He got off, he got off, he got off —"

"Be quiet! Yes, we saw him talking to Fudge on level nine, then they went up to Fudge's office together. Dumbledore ought to know."

"Absolutely," agreed Sirius. "We'll tell him, don't worry."

"Well, I'd better get going, there's a vomiting toilet in Bethnal Green waiting for me. Molly, I'll be late, I'm covering for Tonks, but Kingsley might be dropping in for dinner —"

"He got off, he got off, he got off —"

Rachel's head was in her hands by now. Between Harry's close proximity and that annoying chant Rachel's head was ready to explode.

"That's enough!" said Mrs. Weasley, Rachel silently thanking her. "Harry dear, come and sit down, have some lunch, you hardly ate breakfast. . . ."

" 'Course, once Dumbledore turned up on your side, there was no way they were going to convict you," said Ron happily.

"Yeah, he swung it for me," she heard Harry say "I wish he'd talked to me, though. Or even looked at me."

"What's up?" said Hermione, sounding alarmed. Rachel looked up to see Harry right across from her, hand clapped over his scar, just as he looked in the graveyard.

"Scar," Harry mumbled. "But it's nothing. . . . It happens all the time now. . . ."

"HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF —"

"SHUT UP!" roared Mrs. Weasley.

Rachel tried to concentrate on her food as the pain was the worst she had felt it.

"Are you alright?" Harry suddenly asked her.

Rachel looked at him, trying to look as normal as possible,"Yeah, just a headache."

He nodded,"We haven't really been introduced. I'm Harry."

"Rachel," she said as politely as she could.

Harry looked as if he was going to say something, but decided against it.

"Yeah, Ron's told me about you," he said, "Will you be going to Hogwarts?"

"Oh, no. I'm not a witch," Rachel replied. She saw movement in the corner of her eye and looked over just in time to see Sirius exiting the kitchen quickly,"Would you excuse me?"

She didn't wait for him to reply as she made her way to the door, hoping to catch up with Sirius to see if everything was okay.

She trailed him until he walked into a room Rachel had never seen the inside of, cautiously opening the door and following him inside. She gasped at what she saw. It was nothing she had seen before, but slightly reminded her of a pegasus, a large creature with shiny grey feathers and a sharp beak that looked like a mix of a griffin and a horse.

"It's a hippogriff," she heard Sirius say, not taking her eyes off of the animal.

"They're very proud creatures. You'll have to bow to it," he continued.

This time she looked at him,"Bow to it?"

"Yes. You can't approach him unless he bows back."

It seemed a bit silly, but she followed Sirius' instruction and bowed to it, waiting a few seconds before it finally bowed back. She approached it slowly and held out her hand hesitantly. The creature came to her and she jumped as her hands ran over its soft feathers.

"His name is Buckbeak."

Rachel looked at him oddly,"Is this... Is this your... pet?"

Sirius chuckled in response,"Sort of. We're both on the run."

Rachel raised her eyebrows, but didn't question him. Instead, she asked about what she came here for.

"Are you alright," she asked, "you left rather quickly."

He was silent for a few moments and Rachel recognized the faraway look in his eyes, sadness etched into his grey orbs.

"I... I don't want to sound selfish... but..." he trailed off.

She sat down next to him, encouraging him to continue.

" I was just... hoping that Harry... wouldn't get off," he admitted.

Rachel looked at him confusedly.

"Why wouldn't you-"

"I was just hoping to have some company," he started, "I feel I might go mad if I have to continue to stay shut up in this house. Everyone can come and go and I'm stuck here. I may as well have stayed in Azkaban," he said bitterly.

"I don't think that's true," Rachel said, but he continued to look sullen.

A sudden idea came to her.

"I'll stay here."

He looked at her,"No. Molly and Arthur have said they're going back to Burrow once the kids go back to Hogwarts."

"No, really. I'll talk to them-"

"I couldn't ask you to do that," he cut her off.

"You wouldn't be. I want to," she said. It seemed as if he needed her more than they did anyway.

Rachel would never forget how good it felt to see the happiness in Sirius' eyes after she said that.

Rachel woke up that morning with an overwhelming ominous feeling.

It didn't even go away when Mrs. Weasley told her that they'd be having a party that night to celebrate Ron and Hermione becoming prefects. If anything it got worse.

Rachel had talked to Mrs. Weasley yesterday evening about staying with Sirius for the year, and although she seemed very reluctant at first, she saw how much Rachel wanted it and figured it would do Sirius some good.

So it was set. Once term started and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went back to the Burrow, Rachel would remain at Grimmauld place with Sirius.

That night, when she went down in the basement, she smiled when she saw the banner that Mrs. Weasley had hung up that said,

'CONGRATULATION RON AND HERMIONE-NEW PREFECTS'

Mrs. Weasley looked happier than Rachel had seen since they came to Grimmauld place. She assessed the room seeing that almost everyone plus some members of the Order were here.

Rachel filled her plate with food and sat at the table. She had a very odd conversation with a very sketchy man named Mundungus Fletcher and was introduce to a very intimidating man that towered over her called Kingsley Shacklebolt. She, more that once, felt the suspicious gaze of Moody on her back.

She was talking to Lupin when Harry arrived. She didn't hear him or even see him, she just based it on the pain that spiked in her head.

It was so sudden and intense that she gasped and grabbed her head.

"Are you alright," Lupin asked, sounding concerned and confused.

"I-I ..." It was terrible. Like someone was stabbing something in her head. She couldn't even see Harry anywhere near her.

She abruptly got up from the table, knocking something over in the process. She could hear several people call to her as she stumbled toward what she thought was the exit.

She tripped in her way and her hand latched onto the thing closest to her, which just happened to be Harry's arm.

He began to steady her until he looked into her eyes. He froze and Rachel knew it was happening. In a room full of people. Just her luck.

Everyone in the room stood as still as a statue as they saw the girls eyed turn an unnatural neon green and a misty smoke of the same color spew from her mouth. Then, she began to speak,

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."

She gasped at the end, her eyes returning to normal while the mist was cut off. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to the floor, every occupant of the room too shocked to catch her.

A/N: Wow. That took a while to write, but it was fun. This story has hit 100 followers :o thank you to each and every one of you that wants to stick with this story. Also hit 50 favs:D. Thanks to everyone that reviewed last chapter. I have the main points of this story planned out, but if there's anything specific anyone wants to see, just tell me. Keep reviewing! :D


	10. Chapter 10

Rachel's mind was blank.

From the wiry fabric she felt beneath her, she guessed she was lying on the dusty old couch in the sitting room of Grimmauld Place. This confused her though, as she didn't remember falling asleep there. In fact, she didn't recall falling asleep at all. The last thing she remembered was talking to Lupin in the kitchen.

Rachel was prepared to get up but froze when she heard people enter the room. She kept her eyes closed and feigned sleep as the new occupants of the room approached her.

"I'm telling you Albus," she identified the familiar growl of Moody who was obviously addressing Dumbledore, "I have seen prophecies given before and it has never been like that. There is something that she is not telling us."

Rachel felt sick as the memories came back to her. She remembered the unbearable pain in her head, trying to leave, tripping onto Harry and... she had felt the Oracle come from within her. She must have given a prophecy. But to who? Harry, probably. And what did she say? Apollo had told her all those weeks ago at camp that she would never remember what was said while she was the Oracle. She hadn't remembered giving the second Great Prophecy and she didn't remember this one.

"I understand Alastor, but I'd like to have a word with Miss Dare alone once she awakens," Dumbledore responded.

"She cannot be trusted!" Moody persisted, "She repeated a prophecy that was given _15 years ago_. It can't-"

Dumbledore cut him off, "I assure you, once she is awake I will get to the bottom of this. For now, I suggest you join the others down in the kitchen."

She heard Moody leave the room, muttering dark things on his way out.

Rachel didn't know what she was going to do. Everyone in that room had seen her give a prophecy and she wasn't sure she could lie her way out of this one. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to. It was about time everyone learned the truth.

_But what about Percy,_ she thought miserably. How betrayed would he feel if she told some strangers, even if some of them were her family, about his world? At the same time, how would the Weasley's feel knowing that she had lied to them for this long?

Rachel was also quite anxious while considering how the wizards would react to knowing that there was another world slightly similar to theirs out there.

She felt weird knowing that Dumbledore may be watching her sleep and decided it was probably a good time to 'wake up'.

Slowly blinking her eyes open, Rachel saw that Dumbledore was sat across from her, eying her with an indescribable look on his face. His facial features conveyed a politeness that didn't quite reach his stern eyes. He was dressed in an extravagant pair of green robes while his silver hair and beard were still as long as ever.

Rachel returned his stare warily as she pushed herself into a sitting position. She wasn't eager to be questioned, though she knew it needed to happen.

"Miss Dare," Dumbledore greeted after a few moments of silence, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she replied uneasily.

"I'm sure you understand why I am here."

Rachel bit her lip.

"You cannot have Occlumency performed on you by even the most skilled; You repeated a prophecy in a way even I have never seen nor heard of. All I ask is that the truth is given to me, Miss Dare."

His tone of voice gave Rachel the impression that he'd known that she'd lied to him before. She saw no way out of this. If even Dumbledore thought she was lying, there was no one in this house that would trust her.

She had made her decision. She would tell them about being the Oracle

"Of course," she said reluctantly, "...but I think it would be easier to have this conversation in the kitchen, so everyone can hear what I have to say."

Dumbledore nodded silently and rose from his seat, exiting the sitting room. Rachel took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves and followed him out. She didn't imagine it would go very well when she told everyone she had been lying to them. Especially the Weasleys. No doubt other Order members such as Moody might see this as a complete betrayal. For some reason though, she couldn't bring herself to care what they thought. To Rachel, it really only mattered what the Weasleys thought. Since the day they had come to her home earlier that summer, she had grown to care for each and every redhead in the family, excluding Percy of course. Rachel had really felt _at home_ with them here and she wasn't sure if she could handle it if they disowned her for her dishonesty, particularly Ginny.

Plus, Sirius wouldn't let someone he didn't trust live in his own home.

Rachel and Dumbledore walked carefully down the hall towards the kitchen, the latter in front of the former. With each step she took, Rachel felt her level of nervousness increase, leaving her all but terrified as she reached her destination.

She immediately had the feeling of everyone's eyes on her as she entered. She observed that everyone from the Order that had shown up to the party was still here, with the addition of the greasy haired man who had tried to read her mind, Snape.

She noticed Harry first and was absolutely ecstatic to find that her head felt fine. There was absolutely no pain. He was staring at her vehemently, looking as if he was trying to remember something. Ginny was desperately trying to catch her relatives eyes, and when she did, Rachel saw that she was clearly confused by the situation. Hermione, to Rachel's surprise, wasn't even looking at her. Instead, she was glaring at the table, an intense look of deliberation on her face. Rachel flinched internally when she saw the distrustful look Ron was sending her. Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley and Sirius were looking at her with great concern.

Perhaps the foulest look she was receiving was coming from Moody, whose magical eye hadn't once left her figure since she walked in the room.

He was the first to speak up, "What is this, Albus?"

"Miss Dare has something she would like to say to everyone," Dumbledore responded, completely at ease.

"Come to confess, I bet,"she heard Moody say.

Mr. Weasley came to her defense, "For the last time, Alastor, Rachel is NOT a Death Eater."

She barely heard Moody's muttered reply of, "Constant vigilance."

Dumbledore looked at Rachel and made a gesture towards the chair at the head of the table. Once she was settled in the chair, she looked around and realized that she had no idea how she was going to explain this.

"I've lied to you all," she stated.

"Rachel-"Ginny started to talk but was cut off by said girl.

"I told everyone that I had no idea how or why I was able to see the future, but I do."

She continued to talk without bothering to see how everyone was reacting.

"I'm sorry that I did," she added quickly,"but... I was protecting someone's secret."

"Whose?" Moody demanded the answer to the question everyone was probably asking.

"I'll get to that," she answered, taking a deep breath.

"Now, I don't know what you all know about Greek Mythology, but there is something called the Oracle. The-"

"What does this have to do with anything!"

Rachel was getting annoyed by the frequent interruptions by Mad-Eye, and apparently so was Dumbledore.

"Alastor, please," he implored the ex-auror, "Let Miss Dare explain."

Dumbledore gave Rachel a look that prompted her to continue.

"The Oracle of Delphi is a spirit that the Greek Gods were believed to speak through," she explained, "In ancient times, people would come from all over to ask the Oracle for her wisdom about important matters. The spirit of the Oracle of Delphi didn't remain in one person and was passed on from maiden to maiden. They continued to speak the prophecies of Apollo, the god of prophecy, the sun, healing and other things."

Rachel looked around the room, observing that everyone's looks of confusion had grown. She assumed that they understood what she was saying, however were puzzled by its relevance.

"I wasn't lying when I said that my visions started at the beginning of this summer," she said before breathing deeply, "They started because I took on the spirit of the Oracle."

She stopped speaking briefly to let everyone process what she had told them. Not surprisingly, most looked at her as if she had lost her marbles.

Ron scoffed disbelievingly, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"You're telling us that these Greek gods are not only real, but they also speak through a spirit that is _inside of you?" _His tone was incredulous and the look he was giving her gave Rachel the impression that he was definitely not on her side.

Rachel nodded, and first looked to Dumbledore and Snape, "That is why you can't perform Occlumency on me. If you try to enter my mind, the spirit protects me." Dumbledore became thoughtful for a moment, but Rachel could tell that he understood. "And that's how I was able to give the prophecy about Harry," she responded calmly.

"So the prophecy _was_ about me!" Harry exclaimed.

She could tell at once that that was the wrong thing to say. Although Rachel didn't remember exactly what was said, it wasn't exactly insane for her to assume that it was about Harry. She had had a vision about him before, and of course there were the unexplainable headaches she would get whenever he was around. She figured they'd stopped now because she gave the prophecy.

"Now, Harry-," Dumbledore started, but Moody began striding towards Rachel fast and intimidatingly.

"How did you know the prophecy was about Potter," he growled once he got dangerously close to her.

"I-I..." She stuttered out, unable to form coherent words.

"What connection do you have to the Dark Lord?" He continued to interrogate her. Rachel didn't fail to notice that Mr. Weasley didn't jump to her defense as he did before.

"Moody, she's-" Rachel felt hopeful that Sirius was still trying to speak up for her, but he too was interrupted by yet another question.

"Have you been contacting him from here?" He asked.

"You don't have the Dark mark," he commented seconds afterward, his magical eye focused intently on her left arm.

Rachel didn't know what that was, but by now she had found her voice again.

"I haven't been contacting You Know Who; I wouldn't even know how to. I've only ever seen him in a vision."

Moody's glare didn't lessen after she said that and his cold, hard eyes gave Rachel no indication whether he believed her or not.

"Wait!" Everyone's head, including Rachel's snapped towards Ginny, who had cried out suddenly.

"Fred, George, don't you remember when we heard her talking to someone in our room when she was alone and she tried to play it off like it was nothing?"

Rachel felt like her whole world stopped, barely registering that both Fred and George nodded in agreement. Ginny wouldn't look at her. She knew she shouldn't have expected this to go well, but she didn't know it would hurt this bad. She couldn't believe that Ginny would completely betray her like that. Act as if they hadn't been friends and gotten as close as they did. How could she even think that Rachel would do something like that?

_Because you lied to her,_ a voice in the back of Rachel's head spoke what she knew was the truth.

She was bought back to reality when she heard Moody mutter loudly next to her, "I'll get the Veratiserum," and limp out of the kitchen, his wooden leg clanking with every other step.

Nobody tried to stop him this time, even Sirius remain in his seat, staring at her as if she were a completely different person he was just seeing for the first time.

She knew she had to act quick, she didn't know what Veratiserum was and she had an intense feeling that she didn't want to find out.

"Wait, no," she said quickly,"I was talking to Percy!"

"Percy?" Mrs. Weasley questioned, small tears forming in the corners of her confused eyes.

Rachel almost instantly realized her mistake, "Oh! No, not that Percy," she amended quickly.

"You all remember Percy," she addressed the Weasleys desperately, "He came to my house. He was wearing the Camp Half-Blood T-shirt."

She heard many people in the kitchen begin muttering as she said the name, presumably saying what Mr. Weasley had when he had first seen it.

The Weasleys nodded that they did.

"Then how did you contact him," Ginny asked.

"Well," Rachel began,"Percy was the one that I was talking about earlier; the one whose secret I was protecting."

At that moment, Moody reentered the room, this time holding a small vial of clear liquid that Rachel concluded was Veratiserum. He started towards her despite Mrs. Weasleys protests.

"Honestly, Alastor, she's just a child!"

He stopped, however, when Dumbledore spoke,

"Alastor, that will hardly be necessary."

Rachel sighed with relief as he grudgingly dropped the vial into his pocket and continued speaking.

"You see, in Greek mythology, the gods would come down to Earth and they would have children with mortals. These children would be half god, half human. Demigods,or half bloods."

Rachel could tell that most of them had already figured it out.

"Percy is one of those children. One of many that goes to a camp to train."

"Train?" Fred asked.

Rachel nodded,"They're trained to fight monsters that try to kill them because they're demigods."

"If I may ask," Dumbledore spoke up, "Why and how were you contacting you're friend."

"Well Percy and I are very close and he had noticed that I left my house. He was concerned and called me to make sure I was alright. He used what's called an Iris Message," she said, explaining the form of communication to the headmaster, "I swear I haven't told him about any of this."

Dumbledore nodded and everyone became silent. It continued like this for a few moments before Dumbledore spoke again,

"I appreciate everything that you have told us Miss Dare, and I please ask that everybody who isn't a member of the Order please leave the kitchen."

Hermione was the first to get up and leave, Harry soon following behind. Mrs. Weasley gave all of her children a look that warned them not to argue with Dumbledore. They complied reluctantly and exited the room, Rachel following awkwardly behind.

When she walked into her, Ginny and Hermione's room, she sat down on her bed and noticed that her relative was absent while Hermione was pacing back and forth.

"Oh," she said excitedly when she saw Rachel, making the latter jump slightly. "Rachel, do you remember what the prophecy said?"

Rachel looked at her, slightly confused, "No, I don't even remember giving it. Weren't you in the room when I said it?"

Hermione looked disappointed, "Yes, but I can't remember exactly what you said."

She then frustratedly went back to pacing, muttering softly to herself. Rachel was just observing how deranged she looked when their door opened. Even Hermione looked up when Ginny entered.

Rachel could tell that the redhead was highly concentrated on looking in any direction but hers. She looked annoyingly calm, and Rachel could tell that her relative was absolutely seething. She strode over to her wardrobe and started to rifle through one of its drawers aimlessly.

Rachel gathered all of her courage and approached Ginny cautiously.

"Ginny..." She started but abruptly stopped when Ginny whipped around to face her.

"How could you?"

Her tone matched with her intense glare made Rachel flinch slightly.

"Ginny, I know-"

"No, Rachel, you don't! You lied to us. You lied to me!"

Rachel's heart broke at the hurt that filled Ginny's eyes. She was speakinh so loudly by now that Rachel was sure the others could hear.

"I only lied because-"

Ginny yet again didn't let her finish her thought.

"Because you were 'protecting Percy's secret', I know," she said angrily, "What about when we told you_ our_ secret? You didn't trust us enough even then?"

"I... I just...-" Rachel stumbled over her words.

"Or those times we'd stay up talking at night, or help each other when we had nightmares. You didn't trust me enough then to tell me?"

Rachel could feel the sadness inside of her building as Ginny's tone became more venomous.

"I mean, it makes me wonder if anything you ever told me was the truth."

"Of course, Ginny. I-"

Ginny sighed, "You know what Rachel, I can't deal with this right now. Can you just leave me alone right now?"

Rachel felt the tears forming in her eyes as she stared at Ginny disbelievingly. Ginny ignored her gaze and laid down on her bed, facing the wall. Rachel was aware of the regret that filled her entirely as she left the the room wordlessly, vaguely seeing Hermione send her a concerned look. Why didn't she just tell the Weasleys about being the Oracle when they told her about the Wizarding world. The fact that they had become so close in such a short amount of time had shocked Rachel, but she was happy with it. She was devastated that it was about to be thrown away because of her stupid decision.

If Ginny felt this way, Rachel was certain the other Weasleys shared her sentiments and that Sirius was no doubt going to kick her out of Grimmauld Place. Then she'd have to go back to America, back to Clarion Ladies Academy and back to the never ending, useless fights with her parents.

And now they all knew about the gods, about camp; what would they do with that information?

Rachel had been wandering aimlessly through the dark halls and up the noisy stairs of the old house.

She found herself I front of the door to what she thought was the drawing room. She needed someplace to think and had considered going to Buckbeak's room, but this was probably better as it was unlikely anyone would find her.

Rachel opened the door, barely affected by the overwhelming odor of damp, dust and rotting, as she had gotten so used to it. The room had dark walls and furniture, as did most of the rooms in Grimmauld place. There was a patch of moonlight stretched across the dusty green carpet in the middle of the wood floor.

Rachel closed the door quietly behind her but froze when she heard a noise behind her. She turned around warily, noticing a desk of some sort in the far corner of the room. She stared at it long and hard and jumped slightly when it rattled, repeating the same noise she had heard before. Curiosity took over as Rachel crossed the room, intent on finding out what was in that desk.

She only opened it a crack when it happened. She was knocked onto her back with a loud _CRACK._

Rachel sat herself up on the floor and what she saw in front of her made her scream. Her heart stopped, all the air leaving her lungs, her brain turning icy cold as her limbs became numb. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move. There, lying on the floor directly in front of her, clearly dead, was Ginny.

Rachel felt fresh tears form in her eyes, rapidly falling down her face as she began to cry silently. How could Ginny be _dead_? Rachel was just arguing with her. That made Rachel feel worse, sending new tears down her cheeks. Ginny died hating her.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Rachel looked over only to find Sirius coming into the room, eyes wide as he assessed the situation. He looked from Rachel crouched on the floor to Ginny's dead body and seemed to understand immediately.

He took his wand out and stepped in front of Rachel, who was still crying. She became confused when she heard the same loud _crack _asbefore_._

She saw Sirius tense and freeze and curiously looked back at Ginny's body, except it wasn't Ginny's body anymore. Where her relative had just lain stood a man Rachel didn't recognize. He actually looked very much like an older version of Harry, now that she thought about it.

He was a tall, thin man with hazel eyes and untidy black hair that stuck up in the back. He even wore the same round glasses as Harry.

He looked very angry as he stepped toward Sirius, who was still stuck to the spot where he stood.

"You killed me, Sirius," he said, "You're the reason me and Lily are dead. The reason Harry had to grow up without us."

Rachel then understood. This was James Potter, Harry's dad. But if he was dead, what was he doing here. And where did Ginny's body go?

She then heard Sirius stutter something out. James took another step closer,

"You were the one who made us switch Secret Keepers."

Rachel stood shakily and grabbed Sirius' arm. It was then that she noticed that he too was crying, staring at James with a mixture of horror and pain on his face.

She grabbed his arm,

"Sirius," she said urgently.

It was as if she had snapped him out of a trance. He looked at her as if he'd forgotten she was even in the room. He looked back at James and cleared his throat, raising his wand.

"_Riddikulus_," he said clearly, waving his wand.

To Rachel's surprise, James' body disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Sirius, what was-" she began to question him but stopped when she looked at his face.

"Sirius, are you okay?"

He looked at her with a weird look I his eyes, as if he wasn't actually seeing her.

"I-I'm sorry," he said quietly to Rachel, before exiting the room quickly, leaving her alone and confused.

**A/N: I'm really sorry how long it took me to update this. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning this. I'm not ****_as _****happy with this chapter, but it is what it is. Thank you so much for the great feedback on last chapter. I got SO many amazing reviews and they made me so happy :D. Thanks to everyone that followed, faved and left an awesome review. Keep reviewing. I seriously need some ideas. Also, a few questions: 1. If Rachel had seen someone die in a vision, like Cedric, but not technically in reality, would she be able to see Thestrals? And 2. Do you think Rachel can go through to the platform? Also, does anyone remember when Percy goes missing? I think it's in the winter but I'm not certain. Anyway thanks for reading. Please review:D.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys. Bet you weren't expecting 2 chapters. Neither was I. I started off only writing one, but it got so long I had to split it. And I didn't even put everything that I wanted to. So sorry I haven't updated in a while, summers been crazy, but I'll hopefully be updating more frequently now. Thank you so much to everyone who followed faved and left an amazing review. Enjoy and keep reviewing! :D**

Rachel was abruptly awoken by the sound of shouting.

Dazed and confused, she struggled to move into a sitting position on the scratchy wooden surface she must have fallen asleep on last night.

She could tell there were multiple people were shouting and easily identified the piercing cries of Mrs. Black's portrait. The other voice, however, was too muffled for Rachel to figure out who it was.

She was fully awake now and it took the red head a few moments to realize that she wasn't in the room she usually slept in. Looking around the dark and dusty room illuminated by the sunlight peaking through a single window, Rachel's eyes landed on a desk in the corner of the room.

It was then that she started to remember everything that had occurred the night before.

She remembered telling everyone everything. About being the Oracle, about the existence of the Greek gods, and worst of all she had practically betrayed Percy and all of camp by telling complete strangers about demigods.

Rachel knew she had to warn him as soon as she could, not knowing what the Order would do with the information. Would they try to find out more? Force her to bring them to Camp?

However, Rachel was also terrified to see how Percy would react to all of this. She was sure he'd be mad, but she couldn't afford to let what happened with Ginny happen with Percy. She couldn't lose him too.

Her thoughts wandered suddenly to what had happened last night. Rachel still didn't quite understand what had happened or why she had seen 'Ginny's' lifeless body lying in front of her. Or why it had suddenly morphed into the body of a very alive James Potter when Sirius had come to her aid.

Sirius...

Rachel instantly began to remember the way he had left last night. Understandably, he had been upset by what his former best friend had said to him and left without a word to Rachel, leaving her disconcerted and worried. What if he didn't want her to stay at Grimmauld place with him anymore because she had lied? Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were probably just as upset with her as Ginny, so she couldn't stay with them.

The devastating thought that she'd probably be sent back to live with her parents and attend Clarion Ladies Academy hit her harder than she thought it could.

She took a deep breath, quickly wiping away the lone tear that had traveled down her cheek. The only shouting she could hear at that point was that of Mrs. Black. Rachel dimly registered how odd it was that nobody had closed the curtains that ceased her insults as she composed herself and made her way towards the door.

Rachel had wandered so far into the house last night, she wasn't positive how to get back to her room. She could hear more disturbances in the house than usual and vaguely thought about what could be causing them. She finally began down a hallway that she recognized but stopped abruptly in front of Ron and Harry's room when she heard voices.

"But now Mad- Eye's complaining that we can't leave unless Sturgis Podmore's here, otherwise the guard will be one short,"Rachel easily identified Hermione's voice as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why were they leaving? Rachel knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping, but she couldn't help it; her attention was caught.

"Guard?" Rachel established that this was Harry speaking . "We have to go to King's Cross with a guard?"

Rachel almost gasped aloud when she heard this. They were going toKing's Cross Station? Ginny had told her that that was where they took the train to Hogwarts. She had completely forgotten that today was the day they all left. Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, Hermione and Harry. Thinking about this made Rachel even more discouraged. She wouldn't be able to explain things further to Ginny.

"_You _have to go to King's Cross with a guard," She heard Hermione correct him.

"Why?" Harry sounded irritated. "I thought Voldemort," Rachel was surprised to hear him mention the name,"was supposed to be lying low, or are you telling me he's going to jump out from behind a dustbin to try and do me in?" This made Rachel smile slightly.

"I don't know, it's just what Mad-Eye says," said Hermione,"But if we don't leave soon we're definitely going to miss the train. . . ."

"WILL YOU LOT GET DOWN HERE NOW, PLEASE!" Rachel jumped, surprised, as Mrs. Weasley bellowed up the stairs.

Before Rachel could move to make it look like she hadn't been standing outside the door, Hermione came scurrying out of the room at full speed, coming to an immediate stop once she saw the red head.

"Oh, Rachel," she said, shocked. She got over it soon enough and it was Rachel's turn to be stunned as the witch engulfed her in a hug.

Rachel hugged back slowly, noticing that Harry had come out of the room by now, carrying Hedwig's cage in one hand, his trunk in the other.

Hermione finally let go after a few seconds.

"I was so worried last night when you didn't come back after Ginny..."

Rachel was grateful that Hermione trailed off and looked slightly back at Harry, who looked as if he was feeling very uncomfortable at this point.

Hermione turned back to Rachel, smiling now and continued, "Are you coming to Kings Cross with us?"

"Oh... I don't know..." Rachel said slowly. Of course she had planned on going before last night, but after what took place, she wasn't sure anyone besides Hermione would really want her there.

"You should," Hermione said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She shot her a sympathetic look before she walked down the stairs and yo where Mrs. Weasley was most likely angrily awaiting.

Now it was just her and Harry. They stood in the hallway, staring at each other awkwardly for a few moments before Harry attempted to move past her and follow Hermione.

Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Just because she couldn't fix her relationship with Ginny, didn't mean she couldn't change things with Harry.

"Harry, wait."

He stopped in his tracks and turned back towards her, looking as if he couldn't fathom why she was speaking to him.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Rachel elaborated.

He looked genuinely confused, "Why are _you_ apologizing to _me?"_

"I've been avoiding you since the day you got here," she said.

"Well...yeah. I just assumed it was cause you didn't like me."

"No. Not at all," Rachel corrected him quickly. She hesitated before looking into his room, "can we sit down? This might take a little."

Harry seemed reluctant, staring longingly down the staircase.

Rachel rolled her eyes jokingly and smiled slightly, "Come on, it's not like they'll leave without you."

He still appeared to be hesitant, but eventually set his things down and followed Rachel back into his room. They sat on his bed and Rachel immediately began to give him the short version of why she had been acting weird around him. She told him about her frequent headaches, how they had disappeared after giving the prophecy and even told him about having the vision about the graveyard. He looked oddly hopeful when she mentioned it.

"So you saw it too?" He said, "You saw Voldemort return."

"Well...no,"Rachel replied, "I only saw Cedric being killed."

He instantly became disheartened and Rachel reminded herself of a conversation she had heard between Ginny and Hermione about Harry. It wasn't exactly a secret that he had been struggling with his belief that nobody outside of this house believed him about You Know Who being back.

"It's inevitable," Rachel said certainly.

Harry looked at her, confusion clear in his green eyes,"What d'you-"

Rachel cut his question short,"The truth always comes out in the end, no matter how hard they'll try to deny it or keep others from finding out. Their lies are just a temporary delay to the unavoidable."

Harry adopted a stunned look, staring at the girl next to him as they sat in silence. It was broken as Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs again, this time a bit softer.

"Harry, dear, we really are going to miss the train if we don't leave now!"

Despite the warning, his eyes didn't leave Rachel, who was now rising from the bed. She gave him a small smile and began to exit the room.

"Rachel, wait!"

She stopped, now in the hallway and looked back at Harry, who was now off the bed and making his way toward her.

"Thanks," he said, looking genuinely grateful,"Hermione was right; you should come to King's Cross with us."

Rachel smiled widely in response and nodded her head,"Let's go then."


	12. Chapter 12

Rachel grabbed Hedwig's cage for Harry and they descended the stairs together.

Mrs. Black's portrait was still howling madly but nobody was bothering to close the curtains over her. Rachel assumed it was because the continuous noise was bound to rouse her even if they did.

The smile that had remained on her face since the conversation with Harry immediately disappeared when she saw who she knew was awaiting them. Rachel hadn't fully prepared herself to face Mrs. Weasley, whose back was currently facing her.

When she did turn around, Rachel braced herself for a hate fueled speech similar to Ginny's, but was dumbfounded for the second time that day as the older woman rushed forward and embraced her. Rachel gladly accepted the act of kindness and wrapped her arms around Mrs. Weasley.

She grabbed Rachel by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes seriously.

"Sirius told me about what happened last night. Are you feeling alright?" She spoke in a low voice as Rachel looked down, slightly embarrassed. She didn't expect Sirius about that.

"I'm fine, thank you. Just a little confused," she admitted.

"Ah, yes, I would expect so," Mrs. Weasley replied gently, "I really wish I could explain it to you now, but there really is no time."

"Wait," Rachel said hesitantly, "So you're not mad at me."

She probably shouldn't have brought it up, but she was slightly confused as to why she didn't think of Rachel as Ginny did.

Mrs. Weasley gave her a sad smile, "You had your reasons, darling. I can't blame you for that."

Rachel gave her a watery smile and willed the tears that were forming in her eyes to disappear. At least Mrs. Weasley wasn't upset with her.

"Harry, Rachel you two are coming with me and Tonks," Mrs. Weasley said, her voice almost drowned out by the never ending screams _"MUDBLOODS_! _SCUM_! _CREATURES OF DIRT _!"

"Leave your trunk and your owl, Alastor's going to deal with the luggage..." She trailed off, looking past Harry and Rachel, "Oh, for heaven's sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said no!"

Rachel looked back and froze when she saw a very familiar, bearlike black dog trotting along until he was at Harry's side. She couldn't be sure, but she was positive that the dogs gaze had lingered on her, seeming sad.

"Oh honestly . . ." said Mrs. Weasley despairingly, "well, on your own head be it!"

She wrenched open the front door and she and Rachel stepped out into the chilly September morning, Harry and the dog following close behind. The door slammed behind them and Mrs. Black's screeching ceased, relieving Rachel's ears immediately.

"Where's Tonks?" Harry inquired, looking around as they stepped down the stone steps of Grimmauld Place

"She's waiting for us just up here," Mrs. Weasley replied stiffly, clearly ticked off that Sirius had tagged along.

What appeared to be an old woman greeted them on the corner. She had tightly curled gray hair and wore a purple hat. Rachel knew this was Tonks, as the latter had explained to her that she was what people call a Metamorphagus. Rachel had figured that that was a useful ability to have and personally wished she had it herself.

"Wotcher, Harry, Rachel" she said, winking. "Better hurry up, hadn't we, Molly?" she added, glancing at her watch.

"I know, I know," moaned Mrs. Weasley, quickening her pace and explaining how Mad-Eye hadn't wanted to leave without that extra guy from the guard,_ "How _Muggles can stand traveling without magic . . ."

Rachel smiled slightly when she heard this. As they walked on, Tonks fell into step with Rachel and began chatting with her. Rachel was glad to see that there was another person that didn't feel betrayed because she had lied.

Rachel heard the great black dog give a happy bark and playfully jumped around them, snapping at pigeons, and chasing its own tail.

Rachel couldn't help smiling. Sirius had been trapped inside for a very long time. She felt happy that he was finally experiencing the freedom he deserved, even if it was just as a dog.

Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips in annoyance, clearly not amused by Sirius' antics.

They had walked for about twenty minutes before finally arriving at King' Cross. Once inside the station, they lingered casually beside the barrier between platforms nine and ten, where Rachel remembered Ginny telling her that was how to get to the actual platform. They all kept looking around at the people walking around the station, giving Rachel the impression that they were waiting until the coast was clear.

Rachel was a bit skeptical about the whole thing. She wasn't sure if she would be able to get through the brick, even if Hermione had reassured her that her parents had gotten in before.

Harry must've seen Rachel looking at the barrier with distaste.

"You should be able to get through fine."

She scoffed lightly, "You sure? Cause I really don't feel like running into a solid brick wall in front of a station full of people."

Harry nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I've done that before."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at him amusedly, "Really? How did you manage that?"

"House-elf tried to save my life."

Rachel couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at his vague answer. She didn't have time to question him further, as the others began leaning against it, as a result easily falling through onto the platform until it was just Rachel and Harry left. Wordlessly, Harry held out his hand for Rachel.

"Together?"

His offer unexpectedly reminded Rachel of him and Cedric taking the Triwizard cup together. Shaking those memories from her head, she gladly accepted his outstretched hand and the both rested against the barrier casually. After the experience of apparating, Rachel was expecting some kind of pain involved, but was shocked to find that she had felt nothing before opening her eyes, only to find that she was already on the platform.

She saw first what could only be the Hogwarts Express. It stood in front of her, belching sooty steam over a platform packed with departing students and their families.

"I hope the others make it in time," said Mrs. Weasley anxiously, staring behind her at the wrought-iron arch spanning the platform, through which the others would come.

"Nice dog, Harry!" called a tall boy with dreadlocks while also looking at Rachel curiously. She then noticed that she was still holding Harry's hand and quickly let go.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Its fine," he replied just as quietly.

"Thanks, Lee," said Harry, grinning, as Sirius wagged his tail frantically.

"Oh good," said Mrs. Weasley, sounding relieved, "here's Alastor with the luggage, look . . ."

A porter's cap pulled low over his mismatched eyes, Moody came limping through the archway pushing a cart full of everyone's trunks. He gave Rachel a distrustful look-though she didn't expect anything less-before responding to Mrs. Weasley.

"All okay," he muttered to Mrs. Weasley and Tonks. "Don't think we were followed. . . ."

Seconds later, Mr. Weasley emerged onto the platform with Ron and Hermione. Hermione looked absolutely delighted when she saw Rachel, and much to Ron's dismay, ran forward and hugged her.

"I'm so glad you came," she said as they began to remove the trunks from the cart.

They had almost unloaded Moody's luggage cart when Fred, George, and Ginny turned up with Lupin.

"No trouble?" growled Moody.

"Nothing," said Lupin.

"I'll still be reporting Sturgis to Dumbledore," said Moody. "That's

the second time he's not turned up in a week. Getting as unreliable as Mundungus."

Rachel tried desperately to arch Ginny's eye, but her relative had left the group immediately to talk to who Rachel assumed was a friend from Hogwarts. Rachel sighed sadly. She at least wanted to say goodbye to Ginny.

Her thoughts were cut short as two arms were swung around each of her shoulders.

"Don't feel too discouraged Rachel," a familiar voice said in her ear. She was surprised, but happy, to find that both twins were hanging off of her, same mischievous glint in their eyes.

"She'll get over it eventually," George finished for his brother, referring to Ginny.

"Although she is quite good at holding grudges," he added as an afterthought.

"You guys aren't mad, though?" Rachel clarified

"Wouldn't dream of it, Rachel," Fred said as if it should've been obvious, "You had your reasons not to tell us."

"Besides," George continued, "It isn't as if you were begging us to tell you our secret."

"It was actually Ginny's idea," Fred reminded her.

"Thanks guys. That means a lot," she said, giving them both a thankful smile.

Rachel chatted around with everyone except Ron and Ginny, until it was finally time for them to board the train.

"Well, look after yourselves," said Lupin, shaking hands all round.

"Yeah, keep your head down and your eyes peeled," said Moody, shaking Harry's hand too. "And don't forget, all of you — careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't put it in a letter at all."

"It's been great meeting all of you," said Tonks, hugging Hermione and Ginny. "We'll see you soon, I expect."

Hermione gave Rachel a goodbye hug, telling her that she would write as soon as she could and even said she would try to talk Ginny into doing the same.

As a warning whistle sounded, Rachel said a quick goodbye to Fred, George and Harry.

For one brief moment, Rachel saw Sirius rear onto its hind legs and placed its front paws on Harry's shoulders, but Mrs. Weasley shoved Harry away toward the train door hissing, "For heaven's sake act more like a dog, Sirius!"

"See you!" Harry called out of the open window as the train began to move, while Ron, Hermione, and Ginny waved beside him. Rachel smiled as Sirius bounded

alongside the window, wagging his tail; people on the platform laughing to see it chasing the train. The train had turned a corner and could no longer be seen as Sirius gave up the chase.

As the huge black dog was trotting back to the group of muttering adults, who were apparently bitter due to the fact that Sirius was attracting more attention than he probably should've, Rachel noticed a man staring at Sirius' form with an odd look on his face.

The man had a pale, pointed face, with long pale blond hair and cold grey eyes. He was carrying a sleek black walking stick that was topped with a shining silver snakehead. He looked like someone Rachel wouldn't want to associate herself with.

She leaned close to Tonks' ear.

"Hey, do you know who that man is?" She whispered attempting to point toward the intimidating man as inconspicuously as she could.

Tonks looked in the direction Rachel was pointing in, her face immediately twisting in disgust as she recognized the wizard.

"Yeah. That's Lucius Malfoy, why?"

"Well...Is it just me, or is he looking at Sirius like...like he _knows _it's him," rachel replied in a hushed tone.

Tonks looked back at him quickly and cursed softly.

"We have a problem, "she informed the others, while discreetly trying to get Sirius to hurry back over. Soon, everyone was aware of Lucius' eyes on Sirius' retreating form. Rachel could hear Mrs. Weasley speaking angrily to herself, her voice barely audible.

"...told him not to come... Dumbledore will be furious..."

Suddenly, Rachel felt as if there were eyes on her and looked up quickly, freezing when she realized that it was Lucius, staring at her with a look of confusion on his face.

She looked away as the others began walking back towards the barrier, as Sirius had returned by now. She could still sense eyes on the back of her head as she walked through the archway and back into the crowded train station.

The tension in a the air was so thick as they walked back to Grimmauld Place, Rachel could barely stand it. Sensing that Sirius was in some major trouble, she immediately headed upstairs once they arrived at the house.

She considered going to the room that only she would sleep in now, but decided that it might be more entertaining to pay Buckbeak a visit. She could already hear the shouting from downstairs as she entered the animals room. She, as Sirius had taught her last time, bowed to the creature in front of her before approaching him. He, thankfully bowed back quickly and Rachel wasted no time moving forward and sitting down across from the hippogriff, stroking his feathers slowly.

She noticed with absolute disgust that there was a bucket full of dead rats in the corner of the room, presumably what was used to feed Buckbeak. He seemed very interested in it, so she very carefully fed some of the deceased rodents to him.

Rachel was so involved with Buckbeak that she didn't notice when the shouts from downstairs had ceased or when the door to the room had opened, a tall man now standing in the doorway.

She was humming softly as she sat cross legged in front of the hippogriff, petting his head affectionately as the creature laid on the scratchy wood floor, close to unconsciousness.

"He really seems to have taken a liking to you," an accented voice said from the door.

Rachel jumped a foot in the air when she heard it, startling Buckbeak in the process as well. She whipped around at lightning speed, freezing completely when she came face to face with Sirius. She took deep breaths, while clutching her chest as he casually walked over to a now fully awake Buckbeak.

He chuckled at her, "I didn't mean to startle you."

Rachel stared at him as if he had grown another head. How could act so nonchalant after what happened last night? Sirius looked back at her with his tired grey eyes and sighed.

"I suppose you want to talk about what happened last night?"

"Yes. I'm just a little confused," she replied.

"Yes, well, what we encountered last night was something that's called a boggart," he explained, "A boggart is a dark shape-shifting creature that takes on the form of whoever encounters its worst fear."

Rachel was silent for a few moments, digesting the new information.

"Your worst fear was Ginny dying and mine was..." he trailed off slowly, "well...you saw what mine was."

Rachel saw the same faraway look in Sirius' eyes that she had seen last night as he look down at the floor. She placed a reassuring hand on his arm.

Rachel cleared her throat and brought up what had been eating at her all day.

"So...I'm assuming you don't want me to stay with you anymore?"

His head snapped up and he looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Why would I not want you to stay anymore?"

"Well I kinda lied-"

Sirius scoffed, "You're still staying here," he said as if it should be obvious. Rachel felt absolutely ecstatic that even Sirius didn't mind that she hadn't told him about the Oracle. She wouldn't have to go back, "I'm not like Mad-Eye or Ginny or Ron. I trust you. If you couldn't tell me about what you really were, then you couldn't tell me."

"Thanks Sirius," Rachel said, giving him a watery smile.

"Hey! What's wrong?" he asked when he saw the tears in her eyes.

Rachel was happy that so many people had forgiven her for not telling them her secret, she really was. yet, she couldn't help the overwhelming sadness that had stayed with her when Ginny didn't. And it only grew when Rachel realized that Ginny was gone, and there was next to nothing that Rachel could do to fix what she had done.

"It's no-" She started to say but Sirius was giving her a look that suggested that he wouldn't take that as an answer.

"It's just that... me and Ginny, we became so close this summer and I just ruined it all when I didn't tell her about what I was. I should've told her sooner, and now she's gone to Hogwarts, so I can't even fix it."

Sirius gave Rachel a reassuring smile and a one armed hug, steering them both toward the door.

"Don't worry too much about it. Ginny won't be mad forever. She'll come to her senses and you can talk to her during Christmas break."

Rachel gave him a thankful smile as he let go of her.

"Now let's go to the kitchen, Molly made lunch."

They headed down to the kitchen together, to see everyone that had been at the train station plus a few more from the Order, sitting at the table. She sat across from Sirius, chatting with him as she ate her food, feeling the best she had all day.

She was in mid sentence when all of a sudden everyone at the table became silent. She confusedly looked at Sirius, who had now become wide eyed and was staring at something past her shoulder, seemingly where everyone else was looking. Her nose scrunched up in confusion as she turned to see what they were looking at, completely freezing when she discovered Percy's face on the floating screen of the Iris message.


	13. Chapter 13

Rachel closed her eyes and sighed through her nose. She hoped that when she opened them, Percy's face would be gone, and she would've just imagined that he had called her.

Rachel knew she shouldn't be surprised, though; Percy never really did have the best timing.

Her dreams were crushed as she blinked her eyes open and the sight of his horrified expression remained in front of her.

Everybody in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place was gawking at the black haired boy with an unmatched level of astonishment and fascination.

"Huh," she heard Sirius, "So that's an Iris Message?"

Rachel froze and sighed internally; he wasn't supposed to know what that was. Before she could stop him, Sirius was talking again.

"And you must be Percy."

Percy began stuttering in response, completely confused as to how this stranger knew his name. Rachel mentally face palmed and decided she should go somewhere they could talk alone before someone said anything else they shouldn't.

"If you would excuse us," she said.

Without waiting for a response, she walked toward the door, thankful that the message followed her out. She walked to the sitting room, and sat down so that Percy's face was across from her.

They sat in silence for a few moments while Percy stayed frozen on the screen, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"You really shouldn't contact me like this unless you _know_ I'm alone," Rachel finally said.

"He knew my name," Percy said.

"Yeah..."Rachel responded lamely

"And he knew what this was," he said, indicating the IM.

"Yeah, I'm glad you called me actually. I was going to do it myself but-"

"Rachel, how did he know that stuff?"

Rachel closed her eyes and sighed once again.

"Listen Percy, we need to talk."

"We're talking right now," he replied confusedly.

"Well... yeah, I guess we are. But I mean in person. There's something I need to tell you."

Percy adopted a look of concern and seemed as if he wanted Rachel to tell him more.

"Why? Is there something wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yes Percy, nothing to worry too much about. It's just really important," Rachel responded vaguely.

"Okay...," he said unsurely, "Just tell me where you are and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Rachel groaned internally, knowing he wouldn't be able to get into Grimmauld place without written permission from Dumbledore. She'd either have to ask him if Percy could come, or get someone to apparate her to Camp.

"It's not that simple. I think I might have to come to you. I'm still trying to figure that out."

They sat in comfortable silence for a minute before Rachel spoke again.

"Can I just call you back when I figure out how we can meet. I still have my drachma," she assured him.

He hesitated; she could tell he was still troubled by her indefinite answers.

"Sure," he finally answered, "Just be careful, okay."

Rachel smiled slightly at her friend.

"Of course," she said before swiping her hand through the IM, breaking the connection.

Later that night, Rachel found herself in the sitting room of Grimmauld Place, receiving a fierce hug from Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh, are you sure you'll be alright here? It's not too late to change your mind. You'll always be welcome with Arthur and I."

Rachel nodded into her shoulder, "Thank you, but I'm really sure."

Mrs. Weasley let go of her and grabbed her face gently, assessing Rachel with her kind eyes.

"Oh, alright. I suppose we'll see you when we come for meetings."

She let go of Rachel who then moved to Mr. Weasley, giving him a hug as well.

"You better look after her while I'm gone," Rachel heard Mrs. Weasley say, pointing at something in the doorway. Rachel found that that something was Sirius, who was smirking slightly.

"You doubt that I would?"

Mrs. Weasley scowled, making Rachel laugh quietly to herself.

She looked at the two red headed adults and smiled widely.

"Thank you guys, for everything you've done. I know you didn't want to bring me here, but I'm glad you did and I'm glad I'm able to help."

Mrs. Weasley teared up happily and gazed at Rachel proudly. They each hugged her once more before departing from the old house.

The following night, Rachel was lying in her bed, trying to tune out the screams of Mrs. Black as the various Order members arrived for the meeting that night. She sighed with boredom as she considered going to Buckbeak's room while the meeting went on.

Rachel felt weird not having Mrs. Weasley there to order her up to her room, and only did it out of instinct when people began showing up. The absence of the twins was clear to her now, as at this time, they'd be rounding everyone up into their room, preparing the Extendable Ears. Although she never cared as much as the others did about what the Order was saying, she now missed sharing that adventure with them.

Even now, Rachel didn't have the motivation or interest to sneak around and try to hear what the adult witches and wizards were talking about. She did, however, think that she deserved to be involved in the meetings. She had had visions about You Know Who before and thought that if she went to the meetings, she might have visions related to him more frequently.

However, she also knew why they wouldn't want her there. She was a random teenage girl they knew basically nothing about; not to mention they had just caught her in a lie. Though, at the same time, almost everybody had forgiven her for withholding the information.

Her thoughts were cut off as the old wooden door across the room squeaked, indicating someone's arrival.

Rachel sat up on her bed and squinted at Sirius' advancing form, puzzled by his arrival.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing's wrong,"he said quickly. Despite this statement, Rachel could tell by Sirius' demeanor that something was up. He looked fidgety and slightly nervous, "Dumbledore wants you to come down to the kitchen."

Rachel was shocked, "What? While the meeting is starting?"

"Well, not exactly," he responded, "he wants you to join us _for _the meeting."

She continued to stare at the man in astonishment.

"Why would he want me at the meeting? I've never been allowed at one before."

Sirius replied with a shrug. His lack of response made Rachel suspicious that he actually did have an idea why she was needed at the meeting.

"The meeting starts in five minutes," Sirius added before exiting the room rather quickly, not bothering to shut the door on his way out.

Rachel blinked in surprise and rose from her bed. As she began her decent down the stairs, Rachel was thinking hard, trying to formulate an explanation as to why Dumbledore would want her. Perhaps he had found out more about her previous vision and wanted to divulge the information to her?

In any case, five minutes later, Rachel was found in the kitchen of Grimmauld place, sitting amongst the others while the meeting began.

When she arrived at the kitchen, Rachel first observed Mrs. Weasley at the head of the table, talking quietly and rapidly to Dumbledore. Rachel guessed it was probably about how she shouldn't be allowed there.

She then saw Sirius, who didn't look any less nervous than he had in her room, sitting across from Lupin.

She herself had sat next to Tonks, who, as usual, had her bright pink hair. They talked for awhile, Rachel first asking the girl if she knew why she was supposed to be down here.

"Maybe Dumbledore's considering letting you join," was her reply.

The chatted aimlessly until Dumbledore stood from his chair and raised a hand, signaling the start of the meeting. Everyone fell silent as the Headmaster began talking. Rachel attempted to pay close attention to what he was saying, but she wasn't exactly captivated. All they were talking about was the trip to King's Cross Station.

She started to pay rapt attention when she heard her name mentioned by Tonks.

"It was Rachel who noticed."

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley said, "I warned Sirius that going would be too-"

"It is not him that I am concerned with," Dumbledore cut in, while glancing at Snape.

"Who then?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Snape's head turned toward Rachel and the red head found herself once again being stared down by the professors eerie dark eyes. It was then that she realized that she was the one Dumbledore was talking about; the one that he was concerned with. Others had figured it out too and were now looking at her with curiosity. This was probably why she was called down here.

"Lucius Malfoy is asking questions," Snape informed them in his overly monotonous tone.

Rachel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, recognizing the Wizards name. She remembered seeing the intimidating man at King's Cross Station and was befuddled as to why he would be asking about her.

"What do you mean he's asking questions?" Sirius' tone reflected the concern that was on everyone's faces.

"No doubt he recognized you, Black. However, due to your ignorance, he is more troubled with her," Snape said, referring to Rachel, "He saw her at King's Cross Station with members of the Order and he did not recognize her."

"So that makes him ask questions?" Sirius replied incredulously. He looked at Snape with the utmost contempt.

"She is young. He is merely curious if she plays a role in the Order and if she does, what it is," Snape bit back, looking at Sirius in the same manner.

"As we all know, it is vital that he stay ignorant to this information for Miss Dare's sake."

Rachel was totally confused and slightly scared. She had noticed that Mrs. Weasley had gone as white as a sheet while her husband, looking just as grave, tried to comfort his wife. This was what frightened Rachel. Was it really that bad that this man was asking questions about her?

She gathered all the courage she had and spoke up,

"Um, what exactly is so concerning about _this_ man being interested in me?"

Almost everyone looked at Rachel as if they had forgotten she was there, looking at her with what she could only describe as pity.

Snape was the first to respond and said, "Lucius Malfoy is a very high ranking Death Eater; known to be in the Dark Lord's inner circle."

Rachel tried to look calm as she recalled the Weasley children telling her about Death Eaters, the followers of You Know Who. So if this man found out who she was, so would You Know Who, and that definitely wouldn't be good for her.

The meeting went on and ended without any further mention of Rachel or Lucius Malfoy. Rachel had been so caught up in her thoughts about the Death Eater, she hadn't even realized that the meeting finished until Tonks rose from the seat next to her. She glanced slightly at the Metamorphagus, who place a reassuring hand on her shoulder before exiting the room. Rachel looked around the room, searching for Sirius. When she couldn't find him, she got out of her seat to look, but was stopped when she noticed a crying Mrs. Weasley. Rachel felt a wave of guilt as she looked at her and her husband. She hoped that the inevitability that they were upset because of her.

She approached them cautiously, and was sighted by Mr. Weasley first. He gave her a sad look as he attempted to calm his wife down.

When Mrs. Weasley saw Rachel, she mopped her eyes and surprised Rachel by engulfing her in a hug. She returned it of course as the older woman began to speak shakily to her.

"Oh, R-R-Rachel, I'm so sorry. This is all our f-f-fault. We should have never brought you here. We've put you in s-s-so much danger now."

They were catching people's attention now.

Rachel frowned, "It's not your fault. I'm the one that wanted to come here."

Her assurances did nothing as Mrs. Weasley continued, "This was mistake. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you, especially if it was because of me."

"It won't be because of you, though," Rachel replied. "It was my choice to come here and help. And I still think it's worth it."

"You don't understand; if this war is anything like it was last time th-"

Lupin came to Rachel's aid, "Molly, that's enough," he said. "This isn't like last time. The Order is better prepared, we've got a head start, we know what Voldemort's up to —"

Mrs. Weasley gave a little squeak of fright at the sound of the name.

"Oh, Molly, come on, it's about time you got used to the name. I can't promise that she's not going to get hurt, nobody can promise that, but we're much better off than we were last time. Last time we were outnumbered by the Death Eaters and they were picking us off one by one. . . ."

He trailed off sadly and Rachel felt guilty once again. She didn't want to bring any of this up, she'd be fine, just like she was in the Titan war.

"I'll be fine, honestly. Believe it or not, I've been through something like this before. Being the Oracle is a dangerous job," she attempted humor, however it had the opposite effect.

They all stared at her with a mixture of shock and sadness on their faces. Before anyone could say anything, though, Rachel felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She turned around and came face to face with Dumbledore, who, in spite of the situation, was smiling.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but if you'll excuse us, I'd like to have a word with Miss Dare."

She looked back at everyone apologetically, as she was sure they wanted to continue the conversation, and followed the headmaster out of the room. She soon found herself alone in the sitting room with the old man.

"I would first like to apologize for the current circumstances, Miss Dare. It was never my intention to let anyone close to Voldemort know of your existence," Dumbledore began.

He continued with, "However, I do want to assure you that you are safe enough if you stay in this house."

Before Rachel could respond, he continued, "That is to say, you should not wander. As long as you stay here, under the protection of the Fidelius Charm, the Death Eaters will not find you."

Rachel scowled to herself. This meant she might not be able to get anyone to apparate her to Percy. She'd have to ask Dumbledore if he could come.

"I won't leave the house. But, is there anyway I could have someone... come here?"

Dumbledore's expression didn't change as he continued to look at her. After what seemed like forever, he finally spoke again.

"I suppose we are talking about your friend, Percy?"

"Well... yes," she said slowly. "I just think that he has the right to know if there are people that know him and what he is. And if I'm not allowed to leave the house now, there's no way-"

Dumbledore cut her off, "Miss Dare, I am sorry, but as I've said before, this is a very protected place and I like to know who I am letting into it."

Rachel sighed to herself sadly. She'd never convince him to let Percy come.

"I'm sorry Miss Dare," Dumbledore said, rising from his seat.

Suddenly, Rachel got an idea.

"Wait! What if I let you perform that Legilimency thing on me. You can see that you can trust him," she offered.

Dumbledore stopped in the doorway and hesitated momentarily, giving Rachel hope that he might agree.

A few seconds later he turned towards her with a pensive look on his face.

"I will go get Professor Snape."

Rachel smiled widely as he exited the room and headed toward the kitchen. A few moments later, he returned with a very sour looking Snape trailing behind him.

Snape approached her with his wand drawn and raised it, "Prepare yourself."

Rachel took a deep breath and told herself and the spirit inside her that it was okay that Snape was doing this. This was the only way she would be able to see Percy.

And before she knew it, she heard him shout, "_Legilimens_."

The room swam before her eyes and vanished, image after image was racing through her mind like a flickering film so clear, it blinded her to what was actually happening.

She was seeing things that had happened in her past that involved Percy. First she was at the Hoover Dam, speaking to Percy for the first time, then they were at Goode High School together, standing in the band room. She saw them in the Labyrinth together, her throwing her blue plastic hairbrush at Luke's eye, seeing Pan fade and then she was back in Manhattan...during the battle. Then she was at camp, taking on the spirit, speaking the prophecy. Then she saw the last time she was at camp, saying goodbye to Percy.

Suddenly, she was back in the sitting room with Dumbledore and Snape, still reeling from how vivid and real the memories had seemed.

"Did you see all of that too?" she asked Snape.

He nodded curtly in response, the usual coldness present in his dark eyes before turning around and approaching Dumbledore. They spoke quietly to each other while Rachel stood at the other side of the room, shifting uneasily. She prayed to every god that she knew that Dumbledore would allow Percy to come to Grimmauld Place.

She didn't even notice that Snape left the room until Dumbledore began walking towards her.

"I am trusting you with the task to keep this safe. Make sure that nobody but Percy has the chance to see this. Burn it after he has read it."

Rachel was so happy as he handed her the small piece of parchment with green letters decorating it. She smiled widely at him, unable to describe how grateful she was.

"Thank you so much. I will keep it safe. You won't regret this."

He gave her a slight smile, his blue eyes sparkling, "Goodbye, Miss Dare."

Once Dumbledore had left, Rachel reinstated herself to the task that she originally set out to fulfill: finding Sirius.

She first looked in the kitchen to see if he had returned while she was gone, and although he wasn't present, Rachel found that the two Weasley's had gone. She than checked Buckbeak's room to find the hippogriff alone. She sighed; Rachel had no idea where else to check. She didn't know where his room was. The only other room they had ever really been together in was the drawing room.

Having nothing else to go on, she climbed the stairs slowly, making her way back to what was probably her least favorite room in the house. When she came to the already opened door, she was confused, and relieved to find Sirius standing in front of the opposite wall, staring at something she hadn't noticed was there before: a tapestry.

It looked intensely faded and like most things in Grimmauld Place, old. In some places it looked torn and burnt also like most things in the house, it gave Rachel the impression it had been neglected for year. Strangely, the golden thread that it was embroidered with still shined brightly enough to show her a very large family tree that dated very far back. Large words at the very top of the tapestry read:

**The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black "Toujours Pur"**

She approached Sirius cautiously. If he noticed Rachel's presence, he gave no indication of it. She studied the tapestry closely

"You're not on here," she observed, not sure if she would get any response.

"I used to be there," he replied, pointing to one of the small charred holes on the tapestry.

She touched it gently, "Why is it like that?"

"My mother blasted me off after I ran away from home — Kreacher's quite fond of that story," Sirius answered.

"You ran away from home?" Rachel inquired.  
"When I was about sixteen," said Sirius. "I'd had enough."

"Where did you go?" Rachel asked, glancing at him slightly.  
"Harry's dad's place," said Sirius. "When I was seventeen I got a place of my own, with the gold my uncle left me — he's been wiped off here too, that's probably why — anyway, after that I looked after myself."

"Why did you leave?"Rachel asked, genuinely curious. From her portrait, Rachel could tell that Sirius' mother wasn't the greatest, but she doubted that was the only reason.

Sirius smiled resentfully and ran a hand through his hair. "Because I hated the whole lot of them: my parents, with their pure-blood obsession, convinced that to be a Black made you royalty. My brother was stupid enough to believe them."

"That's him."

Sirius averted Rachel's attention to the very bottom of the tree, at the name Regulus Black. The date of birth was listed closely to a date of death

"I was older than him," Sirius added, "he was thought to be a much better son, as I was constantly reminded."

"But he died," Rachel reiterated sadly.

"Yeah," said Sirius. " ...He joined the Death Eaters."

"Really?" Rachel asked, surprised.

He nodded, "My entire family thought like that."

"Were your parents Death Eaters?"  
"No, no, but believe me, they thought Voldemort had the right idea."

"Tonks should be on here."

"You and Tonks are related?" Rachel asked, astonished.

"Oh yeah, her mother, Andromeda, was one of my cousins, " said Sirius, examining the tapestry closely.

"Probably my favorite," he added as an afterthought.

"She's not on her either."

He pointed to another small round burn mark between two names, Bellatrix and Narcissa.

"Andromeda's sisters are still here because they made lovely, respectable pure-blood marriages, but Andromeda married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks, so —"

Sirius mimed blasting the tapestry with a wand and laughed bitterly.

"So basically if you don't follow _everything_ your family thinks is right, you get disowned and burnt off the family tree?"

He nodded.

"Would've been blasted off of my family tree a while ago," she said quietly.

Sirius was about to speak but Rachel suddenly noticed something about Andromeda's sister. A double line of gold embroidery linked Narcissa Black with Lucius Malfoy, a vertical line leadin to their child, Draco.

"You're related to the Malfoys?"

"The pure-blood families are all interrelated," said Sirius. "If you're only going to let your sons and daughters marry purebloods your choice is very limited, there are hardly any of us left. Molly and I are cousins by marriage and Arthur's something like my second cousin once removed. But there's no point looking for them on here — if ever a family was a bunch of blood traitors it's the Weasleys."

But Rachel was now looking at the name of Andromeda's other sister. Bellatrix Black, which was connected by a double line to Rodolphus Lestrange.

"Lestrange . . ." Rachel said aloud, recognizing the name. Bellatrix Lestrange was the one she saw in her vision with You Know Who and the cup. The vision rachel had repeated to Sirius. How come he hadn't told her they were related?

"They're in Azkaban," said Sirius shortly.

"You never said she was your —"

"Does it matter if she's my cousin?" snapped Sirius. "As far as I'm concerned, they're not my family. I haven't seen her since I was your age, unless you count a glimpse of her coming in to Azkaban. Do you think I'm proud of having relatives like her?"

"Sorry," said Rachel quickly, surprised by his outburst, "I didn't mean — I was just surprised, that's all —"

"It doesn't matter, don't apologize," Sirius mumbled at once. "I don't like being back here. I never thought I'd be stuck in this house again."

Rachel looked at him sadly.

"I wouldn't mind if I could just get out occasionally and do something useful, maybe go on a mission for the Order."

"It's alright. Dumbledore's put me on house arrest as well now; because of the whole Malfoy thing," Rachel said, hoping to make him feel better.

It had the opposite effect however, as Sirius put his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry. This is entirely my fault."

Rachel couldn't help but laugh she was so shocked. Sirius looked up at her curiously.

"Why would this be your fault?"

"If I had been more careful, maybe not gone at all,"he said. "Maybe Malfoy wouldn't have seen you."

"Sirius if it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I was the one that chose to go."

He didn't look convinced.

"And he could've still seen me even if you hadn't gone," she added.

Sirius finally gave in and said, "Well, I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other then."

She nodded,"I can leave this house as much if not less than you can; since I can't turn into a dog or anything."

She swore she saw a smile flicker onto his face momentarily and grinned herself, exiting the room and leaving him to look at the tapestry.

**A/N: Sorry this is so long. And that it's been like a month since I updated last. Also, sorry if I mispelt Weasley anytime in this chapter. I noticed like halfway through that my phone was correcting it to Weasely. This story hit 100 favs :) That's crazy. Thanks to anyone who followed and faved last chapter and left a review. I really appreciate them. Also, A ****_really_**** belated happy birthday to Molly (DaughterOfTheHuntress), thanks for leaving a review. I have this story pretty much planned out but if you have a suggestion just tell me and I'll try my best to get it in here.**


	14. Chapter 14

Rachel shivered, huffing as another gust of wind sent her already tangled hair into her face. She repositioned her red curls and stuffed her hands into her pockets as the chilly September air bit into her skin.

Rachel scrunched up her nose and stole a glance to her right as she hear Moody muttering unknown things to himself. She sighed bitterly at the crazy old man's antics, wishing she could have been with anyone else while waiting for Percy. Not that she really had anything against him; Rachel just though it would be better for the first person Percy saw to have a more practical appearance. She wouldn't be surprised if Percy turned right around once he saw the mismatched eyes, scarred face and odd attire.

She could still remember not ten minutes ago, they had been in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, Sirius arguing that he wanted to go out with Rachel and be the first one to meet Percy. Everyone had agreed, of course, that it was already risky enough to send Rachel out there, they didn't need a fugitive with her too; that it'd be in everyone's best interest if the ex-auror accompanied her outside.

However, if it were up to Rachel, she would have just gone out there by herself. All she had to do was stand in front of Grimmauld Place and wait for Percy. She seriously doubted any Death Eaters were lurking nearby. Plus, she didn't want Percy to meet anyone just yet. She hoped she could get him up to her room to explain things before anyone had the chance to bombard the demigod with questions.

It had been about a week since she and her black haired friend had last talked. Percy had reluctantly agreed to somehow get Blackjack to get him all the way from Camp Half-Blood to London so he could stay with Rachel for a couple of days.

It made Rachel's skin crawl to see how concerned her best friend was. She hated being so vague with him and was elated that she would now have the chance to explain everything to him.

Her thoughts were suddenly cut off as she looked down the street to see that a figure had turned the street corner onto Grimmauld Place. When **she** saw the familiar unruly black hair, green eyes and beaded necklace, Rachel couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

It was returned when she and Percy made eye contact and, just as Rachel had expected, her friend glanced behind her and gave her a questioning look as if to say, _You are aware of the insane looking man standing right behind you, right?_

As he walked closer, Rachel surprised even herself as she launched herself at him, pulling him into a bone crushing hug. It hadn't even been that long since she had last seen Percy; a few weeks maybe, but it honestly felt like a lifetime to Rachel.

She didn't hold on for long as she remembered Moody's presence behind them.

"I'm so glad you're here," Rachel said to her best friend.

"Where's Blackjack?" she added in a quieter tone.

"Oh, I left him around the corner to rest," he replied. "You know, long ride."

Rachel nodded silently. She, again, wished that it was just her and Percy, as the red head could plainly see that her friend seemed extremely uneasy standing with Moody. She decided it would probably be best if she got them all inside as fast as possible.

"So, which house are you staying in?" Percy asked, looking confusedly at the dismal houses that lined the dark, dreary street.

Rachel bit her lip, "Um, Percy, if you could just go along with everything that I say right now, no matter how weird it may seem."

Percy's head snapped toward Rachel abruptly when she said this, eyeing her strangely, looking extremely reluctant to agree.

"Just, trust me?"

Rachel's shoulders slumped in relief as Percy nodded his head slowly at her. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the small piece of parchment adorned with Dumbledore's elegant handwriting. She had had it on her at all times since the old headmaster gave it to her last week.

Rachel extended the hand that clutched the piece of paper to Percy carefully. He regarded it with a confused expression, but let his curiosity get the best of him and grabbed it.

He examined it for a moment before frowning deeply and dropping his arm childishly.

"Come on, Rachel," Percy whined. "You know I'm dyslexic. How do you expect me to read this."

Rachel sighed as she heard Moody growl something about how they should be in by now and gave Percy an apologetic look.

"I know, I'm sorry, but you have to read it if you want to get into the house."

Percy, although looking understandably puzzled at her statement, eventually looked at the parchment once again, eyes squinting with obvious effort, before he finally looked back towards Rachel.

"What's the Ord-" he began, but was cut off by Moody.

"Not here, boy!" he growled suddenly, making Rachel jump.

Before Percy, who looked quite shocked, could say anything, Rachel intervened quickly, "Okay, you've read it all?"

Percy nodded.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath."I want you to look right over there," she pointed at where she saw 12 Grimmauld Place, knowing that Percy only saw empty space. When he obliged, she continued, "Okay, now think of what you just read."

At first, Rachel could tell he didn't think anything was going to happen, but then she saw it on his face. Percy stared at what Rachel assumed was the building coming out of the ground right before his eyes with a look of absolute astonishment on his face. His jaw dropped and he whipped his head around to look at Rachel for a second, before turning back to the phenomenon occurring behind him.

"H-how did- _what_?" Rachel grinned slightly as the demigod stuttered; she had never seen him so surprised.

"Alright, let's go. We can't stand out here all day," Moody said, striding towards Percy. The latter was so shocked about what had just happened, he paid no mind to the man coming at him. Moody grabbed the paper out of his hands and took out his wand. setting it on fire, just as Dumbledore had instructed him to do.

Percy was unaware of the magic that had occurred in front of hit of him as he continued to stare in awe. Moody hobbled off in the direction of the front door and Rachel went to stand next to Percy, who made no indication he was going to follow the man. It looked to Rachel as if he was still processing what he had just seen.

"I know it makes no sense now, but I'll explain everything when we get inside," Rachel said, grabbing Percy's arm and pulling him towards the stone steps. He followed dumbly, wondering what exactly his friend had gotten herself into.

"Oh! One more thing," Rachel added as they crossed the threshold. "Be _really _quiet."

"Why?" Percy asked slowly.

"Trust me, you don't want to find out."

Percy hesitated, eyeing his friend warily. His uneasiness was high enough to make him reach into his pocket and keep his hand around Riptide, so he would be ready if he needed it.

He knew nothing about what he was walking into, but trusted his friend enough to know that she wouldn't knowingly let him walk into something dangerous. At the same time, he wished Annabeth was there. The two had recently got together and to Percy, it seemed as if she always knew something about everything, which would be very helpful right now, as he had no idea what was going on. Of course, Rachel had been very adamant when informing him that he _had_ to come alone.

As they walked further into the house, Percy became increasingly aware of his surroundings. He felt as if he was walking through some kind of haunted house. He couldn't imagine Rachel living in such an uninspiring, dark house; she was so artistic and colorful. He tried to keep his footsteps silent, as Rachel had told him, though it was nearly impossible when each step caused the obviously old floorboards to creak under his weight.

His observations were cut sort as he felt Rachel tug on the sleeve of his jacket. He looked over at her just in time to see her motion towards the staircase they were about to pass. He couldn't tell if she wasn't speaking for the same reason he was supposed to be very quiet or if it was because she didn't want the man trudging ahead of them to know they were no longer going to follow him. Either way, he nodded in understanding and followed the red head up the stairs.

Rachel led him to her room and closed the door quietly behind them.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on now?!"

Percy whisper-yelled as soon as the door was shut.

"You can talk normally now," Rachel responded. "Just don't shout." She didn't want anyone downstairs to hear them.

"Who was that guy? What is this place? How did-"

Rachel cut him off, "Just sit down and I'll tell you everything."

Percy looked reluctant as he lowered himself onto what was Ginny's bed.

Sitting across from him, she looked him straight in the eye. Not coming up with a better solution, Rachel decided to be completely straightforward with him, "I'm not gonna beat around the bush. I'm just gonna tell you. My relatives are... well... they're wizards."

Percy's expression was laughable, but Rachel managed to keep a straight face due to the seriousness of the situation. He looked at her as if she had grown an extra head. He was waiting for her to burst out laughing and tell him it was all a joke. She, however, remained straight-faced.

He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, trying to think of how he could possibly respond to that.

"Your relatives," he finally said, pointing to Rachel. "are wizards?"

She nodded.

He sighed and for a second, Rachel thought he believed her.

"_Are you insane_?" Percy asked incredulously.

Rachel sighed, frustrated, "I'm perfectly sane. It's the truth."

Percy looked at her in disbelief.

"Oh, okay, wow, um," he continued. "So, I suppose the guy who just brought us in here is a wizard too?"

"As a matter of fact, he is."

"Oh my gods!" Percy exclaimed.

It was now Rachel's turn to look at her friend in shock. She couldn't believe that he was having such a hard time believing this. He had just witnessed magic himself before coming into Grimmauld Place. Not to mention his the fact that he was a demigod. Rachel though maybe having a god as a dad might prepare him for such things as this.

"You're _half god!_ How is this so hard for you to believe."

He hesitated, "It's not possible. Wizards only exist in stories."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "And I'm sure that's exactly what you thought about the Greek gods before you found out your dad was one of them."

Percy didn't seem to have an answer to this and remained pensive for a few moments.

"So, what... are they like... children of Hecate?" He finally asked.

Rachel sighed with relief, glad that her friend believed her.

"Well as far as I can tell, they knew nothing about the gods before I came here, but they do magic just like Hecate would."

"They need wands though," Rachel added as an afterthought.

"Wands," he echoed."So, if they don't know about us, do you think the gods know about them?"

Rachel hadn't thought about that. Although it was possible that the gods didn't know about them, she doubted if they had been around that long, that they had never encountered a wizard or a witch. Not to mention, the gods could somehow be related to them having magic.

"I'm not sure."

The two remained silent for a few minutes, Rachel allowing Percy some time to process the information he had just received. Once he seemed alright, she continued to speak.

"That's why they were acting so weird an saying odd things when they were staying at my house. They were afraid I was going to find out what they were," Rachel explained.

"How did you find out?"

Rachel recounted the vision that had started this all to Percy. She told him about everything that had happened that day, how they had explained the wizarding world to her, told her about Voldemort and even asked her to come stay with them and use her seeing abilities to help them.

"That's why you left without telling me?"

"Yeah. They're family Percy, I have to help them."

He nodded slowly.

"Where are your relatives? They are staying here too, right?"

"Well, they were. Bill and Charlie left a while ago. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley left for their own house once Fred, George, Ron and Ginny went to Hogwarts," Rachel replied.

Percy laughed, "Hogwarts. That sounds like a-"

"It's a magic school," Rachel said, cutting him off.

"They have a _school_ for magic?"

"Yeah, from what I've heard, it seems a lot like Camp. Its where they learn how to use their magic."

Percy nodded, before his eyes widened suddenly, "Wait you're related to them; doesn't that mean you can to magic too?"

She shook her head, much to Percy's disappointment, and explained why she couldn't.

"So... do they know about... you know... you being the Oracle?"

Rachel looked at her feet as she answered, "I tried to keep it from them for as long as I could, but it gave a prophecy right in front of them."

Percy looked concerned at this, "You gave a prophecy? About what?"

"Harry, the one from the vision I had, was staying here too. I'm not exactly sure what the prophecy was about, since I don't remember giving it, but, judging by everyone's reaction, I think it was something major," Rachel explained.

"After that, I had to tell them about the Oracle," she confessed. "...and about you."

Percy's head snapped towards her suddenly, "What about me?"

"Well... Ginny, " she flinched inwardly as she recalled the girls actions, "...Ginny, Fred and George had heard me and you talking that day you IM'd me to find out where I was. And, well, they thought you were one of Voldemort's followers or something, so I had to tell them who you were."

Percy looked confused, "So, they know I'm a demigod?"

Rachel nodded hesitantly, afraid of how her friend would react.

"So, when do I get to meet these wizards?"

Percy's unconcerned answer made Rachel look up at him in complete astonishment.

"You're not angry that I told them?"

Percy sent her a questioning glance, " Of course not. You say you had to tell them, I believe you."

Rachel smiled widely at her best friend and felt the strong urge to hug him again. She was flooded with relief now that she knew he wasn't going to lose him like she lost Ginny.

They both spent the next hour catching up with each other. Rachel told Percy all the crazy things she had experienced this summer and how life at Grimmauld Place with Sirius had been. She mentioned the other vision she had had about You Know Who. Percy was fascinated at how much Voldemort and Harry's situation reminded him of Kronos and his own. She even told him about Ginny and how close she and Rachel had gotten over the summer. He was very sympathetic when he heard how they had left things before Ginny had left for Hogwarts.

Percy then confided in Rachel how summer at Camp had been since she left, which was the day after Kronos had been defeated. They had finished building cabins for all of the minor gods children to stay in. Rachel smiled as Percy blushed and told her that he and Annabeth had begun dating. Percy told her it had been pretty uneventful since she left and due to the usual chaotic nature of his life, this made him extremely anxious.

After they were done speaking, Rachel decided it would be a good idea to take Percy down to the kitchen to meet everyone else.

As they walked down to the kitchen, it was painfully obvious to Rachel that Percy was trying very hard to hide his nervousness. She took notice of his hand that was placed in his jacket packet, fiddling with what she guessed was Riptide. Upon passing the curtain covered portrait of Mrs. Black, Rachel stopped Percy.

She pointed to it and whispered as quietly as she could.

"That is why you need to be quiet," she said. "Whenever you pass this, you don't want to make a sound."

"Well, what is it," he whispered while reaching his hand toward the curtain.

"_No_!" she whisper-shouted while slapping Percy's hand away. It was too late, however, as the curtains shot open and the screeching that Rachel had gotten so used to filled her ears once again.

Before Rachel knew what was happening, Percy had uncapped Riptide. Rachel internally face-palmed at Percy's actions, knowing that his sword wouldn't be much help against the old painting. The black haired demigod looked absolutely horrified at the old woman with a disturbing appearance as she continued to hurl insults at him.

Much to Rachel's relief, Sirius and Lupin came rushing into the hallway, only briefly glancing at the weapon in her friends hand before working on getting the velvet curtains closed. Percy was still frozen, gaping at the two men struggling to silence the screaming portrait.

Once successful, they turned around to face the two teenagers

"I-I-I-," Percy began stutter, still dumbfounded.

"Don't worry, it's nothing personal," Sirius said. "My mum hates everyone."

When Percy remained silent, the Animagus continued, holding out his hand, "You must be Percy, I'm Sirius. Sirius Black."

Percy snapped out of his state of shock and quickly touched the cap of his pen to the tip of his sword, allowing it to transform into its more convenient form. The two men seemed both impressed and fascinated by this as Rachel watched in amusement.

Percy shook Sirius' hand before introducing himself to Lupin. The four made their way to the kitchen, while Percy stayed behind with Rachel, asking her about Mrs. Black's portrait.

"So wizards have paintings that scream?"

She grinned and nodded, "They're not all like that, but yeah. Their pictures move too."

"And that was his mom, " he asked incredulously.

"This is Sirius' house, formerly owned by his mother. After she died, she left her portrait, which insults anyone that comes near it. That's why you have to be really quiet in the hallways," Rachel explained.

"Why don't they just take it down," he inquired.

Rachel opened her mouth to answer, but Sirius, who had been listening the entire time, beat her to it.

"My lovely mother was kind enough to leave it there with a Permanent Sticking Charm," Sirius said sarcastically. "Which we have yet to figure out how to reverse. If we had the option, I assure you she'd be off the wall and out of this house."

Once they entered the kitchen, Rachel was grateful to find that there weren't too many people. She was happy to see Mrs. Weasley, but also noticed that her husband was absent, most likely at work. Tonks was sitting at the dining table talking to Kingsley, while Moody sat next to them, fiddling with his wand and, not surprisingly, talking to himself.

All eyes were on Percy as they walked in. Mrs. Weasley rushed over to him first..

"Oh, hello. Nice to see you again, Percy. I'm Molly Weasley," after introducing herself, Mrs. Weasley began ushering him towards the table, "Come and sit down, I've just finished making dinner."

Percy seemed to enjoy the woman's kindness and smiled in return, "Thanks. It's good to finally meet you."

Rachel took the seat across from him and Sirius sat next to her.

"Wotcher, Percy," Tonks said from next to the demigod, "I'm Tonks."

Percy waved in response as Kingsley introduced himself. Moody didn't say anything, so Rachel took it upon herself to tell Percy his name, while also giving him the signal that he was a little crazy.

"So, Percy, we know you're half god," Rachel rolled her eyes as Sirius immediately began questioning her friend; she knew everyone was very curious about Percy.

"I am," Percy responded.

"Well which god is your parent?"

Tonks and Kingsley had stopped chatting to pay attention and it seemed as if even Moody was trying to hear what he was saying.

"Poseidon, god of the sea," Percy replied proudly.

"What does that mean though? Do you live forever, have special powers?" Tonks asked.

Percy laughed, "No, I live normal life. I can do some things. Control water, which heals me, talk to sea creatures, create storms, things like that."

Rachel noted the impressed looks on everyone's face.

"Are you, like indestructible in water?" Tonks asked.

Percy lost his smile as if he had just remembered something unpleasant. Rachel became concerned and confused before recalling that he still had the Achilles curse. Getting it was the only possible way he could have defeated Kronos. She figured it brought back bad memories of his from the war.

"Not exactly," Percy said slowly. "'I'm kind of like that all the time, though that doesn't really have to do with who my dad is."

Rachel was sure that anyone who wasn't paying attention before was now, even Moody.

"You can't be killed?" Tonks asked, fascinated.

"Are all demigods like that?" Lupin added.

"Well, no I can be killed," Percy started. "It's like the story of Achilles, if you've ever heard it. He was invulnerable everywhere except his heel. I'm the same, except for the heel thing."

"Wow," Sirius said. "Were you born like that?"

"No," Percy responded, seeming sad, "I had to get it this past summer."

"Had to," Sirius said disbelievingly. "You sound as if you didn't want it."

Sirius made it sound crazy that he wouldn't want such a gift, but Rachel knew better, Percy thought of it as a curse.

"It's not called a curse for nothing. And I had to get it to fight a war, which wasn't fun, so, no, I didn't really want it," Percy explained tersely.

Everyone remained silent after he said this, looking at him and Rachel with poorly hidden astonishment. Percy kept his eyes on his plate while Rachel felt an immense feeling of guilt come over her. Even she still had nightmares about things she had seen in Manhattan, she couldn't even imagine how Percy felt.

Of course, Rachel couldn't blame Sirius; he had no idea. She placed a reassuring hand on his arm as everyone went back to what they had been doing.

Soon enough, conversation returned back to normal and Percy was back to his usual, goofy self. Sirius asked Percy if he could see the sword he had turned into a pen earlier in the hallway. He agreed and even got the witches and wizards to show him a few spells.

A few hours later, Rachel and Percy were in the formers room, getting ready for bed. As the two were lying down, both were startled by a scratch on the window. Rachel smiled as she recognized the snowy white owl waiting outside with a letter tied to its leg. Percy, however, stared at the window, rubbed his eyes and then looked again, as if he thought he might be hallucinating.

"Uh, Rachel," Percy asked as she began to walk towards the window casually. "Is that an owl?"

Rachel laughed and opened the window, letting Hedwig in, "Yes it is."

She untied the two letters from Hedwig's leg, stroking her feathers, "It's how they communicate in the wizarding world."

She looked at each letter, noticing one was labeled _Snuffles_, which she assumed was for Sirius; she'd have to remember to give it to him tomorrow. The other said her name in what she recognized as Hermione's hand writing.

"Huh," she heard Percy say. "That's...different."

She heard him mumble something about Annabeth as she sat down on her bed with her letter. She opened it quickly and began reading.

_D__ear Rachel,_

_Hope you're OK, the first week back here's been terrible, I'm really glad it's the weekend. We've got a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge. She's nearly as nice as Sirius' mum._ Rachel laughed at this. _Harry's already had a detention with her._

_Harry showed me his Divination textbook and we thought it's name was ironic. It's called The Dream Oracle. Harry says Ron was quite annoyed when he saw it._

_I've been talking to him and Ginny lately, trying to get them to change their minds, but they're very stubborn._

_Sorry,_

_Hermione_

Rachel smile bitterly as she closed the letter. She remembered Hermione and Ron telling her about Divination. She couldn't believe that they taught what she did at Hogwarts. Hermione spoke very badly of the woman that taught it and said Rachel would do a much better job.

She tried not to feel too discouraged about what Hermione had said about Ginny and Ron as she put the letter on her nightstand. Deciding she would write a reply tomorrow, Rachel laid down and pulled the covers over her, immediately falling into a deep sleep.

**A/N: I hate myself for how long I took to update. Sorry! These chapters just keep getting longer and longer. Also I had terrible writers block. Anyway, here's chapter 14, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you're all still enjoying this story. This story has hit 200 followers, which makes me so happy. Thanks for anyone who left a review last chapter, they are much appreciated. In response to some reviews, in my opinion the demigods are a little more powerful than wizards, so sorry if I made it seem like they weren't. Also, to the person that asked, I can tell you that Rachel will definitely be throwing another hairbrush :D. Finally thanks to whoever pointed out the thing with Hermione and divination, cause I probably would've forgotten about that. Thank you to anyone who followed and faved, it's much appreciated.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I would first like to start out this chapter by apologizing for taking so LONG to update. It's been, like, months. Sorry, life and school got crazy and I got a job and I honestly couldn't think of anything to write for this story. But I finally did it and I'm pretty pleased with most of it. And don't worry, the next update won't be in a few months, I already finished the next chapter, I've just got to go through it and add a few things, so it will most likely be up by the weekend. If you're still with me thank you so much. Also, a huge thank you to anyone who followed and faved last chapter and especially to those that reviewed. Feedback is greatly appreciated, even if it's just to tell me that my writing sucks. Also, I'm putting a poll up on my page for this story asking if Rachel should go to Hogwarts, so please go vote on that. I didn't originally plan the story that way, but it can be done. Okay, I hope you enjoy and please review! :D**

Rachel had been curled up in an armchair, reading a book called _The Art of Fortune Telling _when Sirius approached her the library of Grimmauld Place. It was often now that the red head be found in this position. She had become increasingly interested in the subject of Divination after hearing more about it from Sirius. She wasn't normally much of a reader, but it wasn't as if she really had much more to do in the old house. Even with Percy here, there was little to nothing for them to do, even more so because Rachel wasn't allowed out.

She glanced up briefly from her book to look at Sirius, who, much to Rachel's confusion, had poorly suppressed nervousness written on his face. He seemed to be pretending to look for a book. She looked back at her book, eyebrows furrowed.

"Where's Percy?" She asked, remembering she left her demigod friend with the Animagus.

"Oh, um, I left him in the kitchen with Tonks," he explained. "She just got back from the Ministry."

Rachel nodded in understanding and went back to reading. She found, however, that she was unable to focus on the text in front of her due to Sirius' odd behavior. He kept fidgeting slightly, picking up random books and scanning the front cover before putting it back.

Finally she became impatient, "Sirius?"

He turned toward her, feigning a look of innocence, "Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just look-"

Rachel cut him off, slightly irritated, "Don't tell me you're looking for a book. You don't read," she said, suddenly concerned. " Is something wrong?"

Sirius sighed, defeated. He walked toward Rachel and sat down in the armchair opposite her. Suddenly, Rachel was the one who was nervous. She began thinking of everything that could have possibly gone wrong. Was Percy hurt? Did something happen at Hogwarts?

"I just...well...we've become..." Sirius seemed to be struggling to find the right words. Rachel fidgeted slightly as a few, tense, silent, moments passed between the two.

Finally, Sirius spoke, "Are you okay?"

The question shocked Rachel so much, she found herself unable to answer. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, perplexed. Why was Sirius so concerned about asking her such a simple question?

Finally she found her voice and stuttered out a reply, "Uh, Yes, I-I'm fine. _Why_?"

He looked unsure, " Well, it's just that..." he hesitated, his voice faltering slightly. "I-well _we_, really_-_ are worried about you."

Rachel stared blankly at him for a few moments.

"You're...worried?" Rachel asked, putting her book down and sitting up properly. She had no idea why anyone had any reason to be worried about her. "Why would you be worried about me?"

"Well," he began. "For starters, your sleeping habits are about as good as mine. If you're not having a vision, then you're having a nightmare, and they're obviously bad enough you keep you up all night..."

Rachel smiled slightly as he continued. Of course, she didn't find enjoyment in the fact that he was distressed, but she appreciated his concern. If she was back at her boring old house in America, she could almost guarantee that her parents wouldn't even notice her troubles, and even if by some miracle they did, they certainly wouldn't address it themselves.

"...and of course, there have been some things here and there that you and Percy have said that... just don't seem right."

Rachel tuned back into what Sirius was saying and stared at him confusedly.

"What do you mean? What have we said?"

Sirius hesitated, "Well... there was what Percy said about his curse thing, that he had to get it during a war..."

When Rachel didn't respond, he continued, "And Remus told me you said something along the lines that you were perfectly fine fighting Voldemort because you had been through something like this before."

"And then of course, there's Molly and Arthur, who say you said something similar when you were trying to convince them to bring you here."

Rachel remained silent, staring blankly at the man across from her. To Sirius, her expression was unreadable, which scared him. He had never seen Rachel look so... dispassionate before. She always had some kind of emotion to her.

"I..." Rachel trailed off as she thought of what to say. "It's not that big of deal really."

She could tell that Sirius didn't believe a word she said, "Clearly, it is."

Rachel could tell there was no way he was letting this go. She sighed.

"There was a war this past summer," she began. "in mine and Percy's world, against... well technically against Percy's grandfather, Kronos, and all of his followers of course. It... he was sort of like Voldemort, which is why I say this isn't all technically new to me."

When Sirius remained silent, she continued.

"I started having visions as the final battle approached, and I...I realized I was meant to become the host of the Oracle after it was all over... after Percy defeated Kronos."

Her voice faltered slightly, "I was there during the final battle. I wasn't extremely close with anyone fighting except for Percy, but I still..." she stopped and briefly wondered how it was so easy for her to tell Sirius all of this. She'd never talked about this with anyone. "I saw people die that day."

Rachel felt her eyes water slightly and looked down at her lap, hoping Sirius wouldn't notice. She felt stupid for even reacting like this in front of him.

"It... it really shouldn't bother me that much, but it's like it's all I ever see when I go to sleep."

Still looking down, Rachel heard movement from where Sirius was sat. For a moment, she thought he was getting up to leave but was shocked when she felt another body squish next to her in the armchair. Sirius swung his arm across her back and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly.

"It's okay that it still bothers you, Rachel," Sirius said. "I still remember things that I saw the first time Voldemort came around. Many people I knew died and I even saw a few..."

Sirius trailed off and Rachel's mind wandered off to the night she had seen what his Boggart was. Had he seen his best friend die? She knew for certain that he blamed himself.

"It will get better though," he added.

Rachel wasn't entirely positive that that statement held any truth but in any case, she accepted his comfort and the two sat there for a few more minutes before Sirius stood up abruptly. Rachel wiped her face clean and looked at him questioningly.

"I'll be back," he said vaguely, before rushing out of the room.

Rachel shook her head in confusion as a small smile formed on her lips. She felt immensely better after talking with Sirius.

The redhead stood up and stretched, deciding to find Percy and Tonks. When she did, find them that is, what she saw made her giggle.

Percy was sitting across from the auror, looking absolutely astonished as she changed her hair from purple to green to pink. Percy looked at Rachel as she entered and sputtered,

"D-d-do you see this? This is amazing!"

Tonks laughed and ceased her hair changing.

"How can you do that without your wand-thing?"

"It's something I was born with," she explained.

"Awesome," Percy said. "Could you make it blue?"

Tonks looked at him oddly while Rachel rolled her eyes playfully at her best friends antics, "Sure."

Tonks screwed her face up in concentration and soon her bubblegum pink hair changed to royal blue and Percy smiled appreciatively.

Tonks glanced up at the clock on the wall, "Oh, I better be getting back to the Ministry.

"Bye Percy, Rachel."

The two said their goodbyes to the Metamorphagus and she was out the door.

Rachel sat down in the spot Tonks was previously sat in and immediately frowned when she saw Percy's look of delight morph into one of concern.

"Have you been crying?"

"O-oh Uh...er," Rachel cursed herself as she stuttered in response. Was it really that noticeable? "No..?"

Her answer sounded more like a question and Percy eyed her disbelievingly.

"Rachel, I can tell, " he said. " What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. _Really_," she said when she saw he looked unconvinced. "Me and Sirius were just talking about... stuff."Rachel avoided mentioning the war, as she wasn't sure how he would react.

Fortunately, he didn't push her further and inquire what 'stuff' she was talking about. Instead, he completely shocked her with what he said next.

"Are you sure you want to stay here?"

Rachel raised her eyebrows at her friend, "Uh, yeah, pretty sure. Why?"

"Well...I don't know... it just doesn't seem... right," he replied.

Rachel furrowed her brows, "What do you mean, 'it doesn't seem right'?"

Percy hesitated, "I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into. I mean, from what I've heard, this Voldy- whatever his name is-guy seems really dangerous. I mean you could get... I'm just... scared," he admitted.

Rachel's heart warmed at Percy's apprehension and she gave him a reassuring smile, "I know what I'm getting myself into. It may be dangerous, but I have a real shot at helping these people win. Their my family."

Percy opened his mouth to speak but reconsidered before responding, "I'm not going to convince you to leave, am I?"

Rachel shook her head determinedly and Percy looked sullen.

"Would you," Rachel asked seriously."Leave, I mean. If you were in my position, would you leave?"

She knew she had got him there.

He hesitated, "No, I probably wouldn't."

Rachel smiled at her victory, "So you shouldn't expect me too either."

Percy still seemed doubtful, "...I guess."

Later that night, it was time for Percy to leave and the two friends found themselves outside of Grimmauld Place once again. Rachel gave him a long hug and wished him a safe trip back home.

Truthfully she wasn't sure if she would survive this war; of course she wouldn't tell Percy that. But as she watched Percy walk down the street and turn the corner to where Blackjack was surely waiting, Rachel couldn't help but wonder if that was the last time she would see her best friend.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Rachel finally found Sirius later that night, sitting in his usual seat at the dining table. She hadn't seen him since their encounter in the library earlier that day.

"Ah, Rachel! Just the girl I was looking for!" He exclaimed when he saw her.

"Someone's excited," she smiled slightly.

"I have a gift for you," he said, motioning to a small pouch on the table.

Rachel eyed the thing warily, "Why exactly did you get me a gift?"

He didn't respond to her question as he handed her the pouch. He made some gestures with his hands for her to open it.

Rachel opened it cautiously, afraid something would jump out at her. Confusion came over her as she finally got a look at what was inside. She pulled one out and examined t closely, her eyebrows furrowed. It was a small glass vial filled with a liquid that was a brilliant purple color. There were about five other vials in the pouch, filled with the same stuff.

She looked to Sirius, "What are these?" She asked, her voice laced with curiosity.

"They're called Dreamless Sleep Potions. If you drink them... well I think the name is pretty self explanatory."

Rachel stared at the vials for a few moments.

The next thing she knew, she was launching herself at Sirius, wrapping his arms around his torso. He tensed but after a few moments relaxed and returned the favor.

"Thank you so much," Rachel said, genuinely grateful. She let go of him. "This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me."

He beamed at her, "Don't mention it."

She suddenly became concerned, "How did you get these. You didn't leave the house did you?" As grateful as she was, she didn't want Sirius to get in trouble for her.

"No. I flooed Remus earlier and he managed to snag me a few."

Rachel smiled slightly, mentally noting that she would have to thank Remus later.

"Thank you. Really."

He continued to smile one of his rare smiles, "Go, put them to use, get some sleep."

She grinned at him before walking up to her room and doing just that.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

_The vision didn't surprise Rachel when it came._

_She seemed to be standing on the sidewalk of a quiet suburban neighborhood, an ordinary-looking one story house directly in front of her. The sky was clear and Rachel could see the moonlight reflecting off of the large, pristine windows. The air seemed still and there wasn't a sound she could hear. Rachel relished in the moment of peace and quiet, knowing that it would soon be over._

_Inevitably, she heard shuffling from her right side and was unperturbed when three figures, each one hooded, made their way into her line of vision. Each one of the figures, seemingly male, were wearing long, billowing, black robes; ones she had become so accustomed to since coming to London. They stood in directly in front of her, so that she could only stare at their backs. One of them suddenly spoke in a harsh whisper,_

_"Are you sure this is the house?"_

_A different one answered, "Of course," he spoke, clearly impatient. "Now let's go."_

_They began towards the front door and Rachel unwillingly followed, cringing when one of the men turned around. He was wearing a mask, one identical to one she had seen so many times recently._

_She saw the one in front pull out his wand, muttering a spell that unlocked the front door, granting them passage to the house. Once inside, the one at the back waved his wand towards the door and barely audibly said, "Muffliato."_

_Now standing in the sitting room of the poor and unsuspecting resident of this house, the three began walking towards a wide hallway, purposefully making their way towards a door at the end. _

_Without even bothering to check if said door was locked, the one at the front flicked his wand, effectively making the door fly off the hinges. They marched into the room with Rachel following behind, the girl hoping that she wouldn't see anything too awful tonight. _

_Rachel saw a man, jumping out of his bed, dressed in dark blue pajamas, clearly startled by the sudden invasion of his bedroom. He was fairly young and had a head full of dark, curly hair. Surprisingly, he looked a little familiar to Rachel. His astonished expression immediately morphed into one of terror when he took in the appearances of the three men. He grabbed his wand of the bedside table with lightning speed, but the men had already anticipated this._

_Before the pajama-clad man could say anything, one of the cloaked men shouted, "Expelliarmus," and Rachel watched with increasing dread as the wand flew across the room, leaving the guy all but defenseless_

_"W-What do you want?" he asked obviously, and justifiably, frightened. _

_"We want to know about the prophecy and the redheaded girl. The one hanging around the Order," one of the masked men demanded in response. Saying that Rachel was surprised was an understatement. Yes, of course she knew that Voldemort's followers supposedly knew about her, but hearing them ask about her made it that much more real. They were actually after her. People willing to kill were asking about her._

_The man's eyes widened impossibly, "I d-don't know what you're talking about." _

_One of his attackers growled menacingly, "Potter's prophecy. We know you work for the Department of Mysteries, Perkins; and that you are affiliated with the Order"_

_And then suddenly, Rachel recognized the terrified man in front of her. She had seen him at a few Order meeting. She hadn't ever spoke to him before, but he was sure he knew who she was. And what about Potter's prophecy, Rachel thought. Were they referring to the one she gave at Ron and Hermione's party. How would they even know about it? And what was the Department of Mysteries? _

_Rachel focused back onto the scene in front of her as the man, Perkins, backed up more towards the corner of the room._

_"I don't know about that prophecy," Perkins insisted. "It was given long before I even started at the Ministry. And I don't know about any girl with the Order."_

_She could sense the men becoming more and more impatient. Apparently, so could Perkins._

_"Please, I-"_

_His pleas were interrupted as the man closest to Rachel spoke, "Crucio!"_

_Rachel tried to block out what was happening before her as the men continued to ask Perkins about the prophecy and Rachel. Perkin always refused and was therefore hit again with the unforgivable curse. Rachel had to applaud Perkins and actually felt a little grateful that his resolve had yet to crumble. But even so, she could tell that he was fading quickly._

_She could sense that the masked men decided that they were going nowhere with Perkins and that he would not give them the information that they desired. Rachel felt her heartbeat quicken as she saw the three hooded figures advance on the quivering man. _

_She desperately hoped this would occur in the future and could be prevented._

_Perkins cowered into the corner of the room across from Rachel and covered his eyes, as if it would help him escape the current situation. Rachel wished she could do the same. She tried to look closer at the attackers in order to avoid seeing what was inevitably about to happen. One of them raised their wands and Rachel braced herself._

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

Rachel bolted upright in her bed, thankful that the vision was over. She wiped some sweat off of her forehead as she attempted to calm her breathing. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, not even bothering to glance at the clock. No matter how late it was, she knew she could depend on Sirius being in either the kitchen or Buckbeak's room.

Deciding to check the kitchen first, she made her way down the hallway, going over what she had just seen in her head again. It wasn't anything extremely different than what she had been seeing lately, this being her fourth vision in a few months. They had started shortly after Percy had visited her at Grimmauld Place. Each one of them gave her an outside point of view of people being attacked, and more often than not, killed. They made Rachel hate going to sleep.

Despite this, the Order was ecstatic when Rachel had these types of visions. Not necessarily because of what she was seeing, but because each vision, so far, had taken place in the future. They had been able to identify those in the vision and therefore prevent any of the events she had seen from occurring. Whether it be making those who would be attacked go into hiding before anything happened or if members of the Order arrived at the scene as the Death Eaters were about to commit the crime. Unfortunately, none of them had been caught yet.

Nonetheless, Rachel had been able to save every person she had seen so far. No doubt she was happy about it. This is what she came here to do after all: help the Order in their fight against You Know Who. But Rachel still feared the day she knew was inevitable. The one in which she would have a vision similar to Cedric's; one that she could not prevent. What if she was too late and Perkins was already dead? Not to mention the fear she constantly felt that she would see someone she knew in these visions.

She eventually made it down to the kitchen, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she entered the room. The only sources of light were the fire and one guttering candle, which illuminated the sharp features of the person she had been searching for. He was unshaven and still in his day clothes.

He looked at her worriedly. Her supply of Dreamless Sleep Potions had run out long ago and Rachel had yet to obtain more.

"Nightmare?"

She shook her head, "It was another vision."

Sirius rose from the table and Rachel already knew from previous experience that he was off to contact Dumbledore.

She sat down at the table and laid her head on her arms, closing her eyes. After a few moments, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Sirius, now with Dumbledore, looking concerned.

"What did you see?" Dumbledore asked. He was sat across from her, while Sirius took the spot beside her.

"A man, he was attacked in his home," she began. "It was... a member of the Order I think."

Sirius' eyes widened, "Who?"

"Someone named Perkins, they said he also worked for the Ministry, in the Department of Mysteries, I think it was," Rachel explained

Dumbledore nodded grimly, "Adrian Perkins. Please, describe the attack."

Although she didn't want to, Rachel knew it was necessary and recounted the vision in as much detail as possible. She could see Sirius tense when she mentioned the men asking about Harry's prophecy and herself. When she was finished, Dumbledore nodded his thanks.

"I shall go visit Mr. Perkins to ensure his safety. I'm sure he will be grateful that you have seen this."

Rachel nodded and yawned. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was seven in the morning. _No point in going back to sleep now_, she thought.

So, she stayed in the kitchen with Sirius and the two chatted while Sirius began to make tea. Sirius informed her that the holidays were only a few days away for Hogwarts students. Rachel felt relieved. As much as she loved Sirius' company and reading books about divination, she needed someone her age here. It just got so boring sometimes.

The day passed by in a blur and surprisingly, no one passed through Grimmauld Place as it progressed. Often, Mrs. Weasley would show up towards dinner time and share her amazing cooking with Rachel and Sirius. Unfortunately for Rachel, tonight was not one of those nights.

And so, as she sat at the table that night, her stomach growled. Sirius noticed.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

She responded, "Yeah, kind of."

"Kreacher!" Sirius yelled and, surprisingly, the house elf did not come.

"Oh forget it. I'll whip something up for the both of us," he said, standing quickly.

Rachel sat and watched as Sirius prepared the food. She had never seen him cook and had only ever tasted the tea he made.

When he finished and set the food down in front of her, Rachel immediately lost her appetite. She couldn't even tell what was in the bowl in front of her. Chili, maybe?

_It probably tastes better than it looks_, she hoped to herself.

It didn't. Taste better, that is.

"How do you like it?" Sirius, who hadn't started eating yet, asked.

Rachel attempted a smile and hope it didn't look too much like a grimace. "It's good," she lied.

Just as Sirius was about to taste his own creation a noise sounded from upstairs. It sounded like someone talking.

"What is that?" Rachel looked towards the noise, concerned. The voice seemed too loud to be Kreacher's and she was under the impression she and Sirius were the only one in the house.

Rachel looked to Sirius, whose features held the same look of confusion. After listening for a few more moments, Sirius' eyes lit up with recognition.

"I think..." he began. "I think that that is Phineas Nigellus."

Sirius stood from his seat at the table as Rachel gave him a puzzled look. He began to walk out of the kitchen, Rachel not far behind. Phineas Nigellus? Was he an Order member? Rachel was sure she had never heard that name before. How did he even get into the house if he wasn't part of the Order?

"Have you lost it? Who the Hades is Phineas Nigellus?"

Sirius gave her an odd look.

"You've never seen him?"

Rachel shook her head.

"He's one of my ancestors. A portrait, like my mother."

Rachel gave the older man a disgusted look, "There's another one?"

Sirius chuckled lightly, "He was the Headmaster of Hogwarts when he was alive. He's not exactly fond of me, but he's honor bound to help Dumbledore."

They finally got up to the room which Phineas' portrait was in. The guy in the portrait looked clever, with black hair, dark eyes, and a pointed beard and thin eyebrows. Rachel also noticed that he was wearing green and black robes.

He looked almost disgusted as Rachel and Sirius entered the room.

"Finally," he said. "I've been calling you for ages."

"Is something wrong?" Sirius asked, clearly concerned.

Phineas looked uninterested as he answered, "Dumbledore has asked me to inform you that the Weasley children and Harry Potter will be arriving at this house shortly by means of a Portkey-"

"Why, what's happened?" Sirius asked, Rachel feeling just as concerned as he sounded.

"Yes, I was getting to that," Phineas said, sounding extremely annoyed, "Arthur Weasley has been gravely injured."

**(Side Note: I think that in the book it says that Voldemort is supposed to be laying low and that he doesn't really attack anyone, if that's the case, sorry, but it was kind of necessary for the plot that Rachel have those visions. Please review!) **


	16. Chapter 16

Rachel tapped her foot anxiously as she waited for something- _anything_\- to happen. Phineas Nigellus hadn't been willing to share to many details about Mr. Weasley's condition and how it even became that he was 'gravely injured'. Her and Sirius, and Kreacher, who had finally decided to show up, were silent as they waited in the kitchen for the arrival of the Weasley's plus Harry.

_Gravely injured, _Rachel thought to herself. But what if that meant he was already...

Rachel jumped as the silence was broken. She looked over to what caused the disturbance and saw that Fred, George, Harry, Ron and Ginny had seemingly fallen onto the kitchen floor, looking disheveled. It was as if they had appeared out of thin air. Rachel then took notice of the kettle that clattered to the floor near them, probably the Portkey Phineas mentioned.

Rachel then averted her attention to Kreacher, who decided to speak up,

"Back again, the blood-traitor brats. Is it true their father's dying?''

"OUT!" Sirius roared as Rachel shot a death glare at the retreating house-elf.

Rachel looked back at the five on the floor just as Harry scrambled to his feet and looked around.

Rachel stayed back cautiously as Sirius hurried towards the others, looking agitated.

"What's going on?" he asked, stretching out a hand to help Ginny up.

"Phineas Nigellus said your dad's been badly injured," Rachel added

As soon as she finished speaking, Rachel took notice of the grave looks on everyone's face. She couldn't remember a time she had seen the twins look so serious.

"Ask Harry," Fred replied.

"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself," George added.

Ginny and the twins stared at Harry expectantly and Rachel heard that even Kreacher's footsteps had stopped on the stairs outside. She looked at Harry with sympathy. The black haired wizard had a distressed look on his face, as if he didn't want to share his story.

"It was -" Harry began, faltering. "I had a - a kind of vision."

"A vision?" Rachel inquired eying him curiously. The portrait of Phineas Nigellus didn't say anything about a vision. She also wondered how Harry was having visions at all.

Harry nodded and hesitantly told everyone all he had seen. To Rachel, it seemed as if Harry's vision had been exactly like any she had had. He explained how he had looked on as Mr. Weasley was attacked by a large snake.

When Harry had finished, Fred, George and Ginny continued to stare at him for a moment. Rachel felt regret fill her. She had been having so many useful visions lately; ones that had saved lives. Why couldn't she have seen Mr. Weasley attacked earlier than Harry. Then maybe instead of anxiously waiting to find out if her relative would survive the night, he could have avoided the injuries altogether.

"Is Mum here?"Fred said suddenly, turning to Sirius.

He shook his head, "She probably doesn't even know what's happened yet," he said. "The important thing was to get you out of Hogwarts before Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore's giving her the news now."

"We've got to go to St Mungo's," Ginny said urgently.

She then looked around at her brothers; who were still in the pyjamas they had arrived in. It was also then that she noticed Rachel's presence. They made eye contact for a few moments, but Rachel was unable to read Ginny's expression. Given the current situation, she didn't exactly look happy to see her, but she also didn't look as angry as the last time they had spoken.

"Sirius, do you have cloaks you can lend us?"

"Now wait a minute, you can't go tearing off to St Mungo's!" said Sirius.

"'Course we can go to St Mungo's if we want," Fred replied with an incredulous expression. "He's our dad!"

"And how are you going to explain how you knew Arthur was attacked before the hospital even let his wife know?"

"What does that matter?" said George hotly.

"The same reason no one knows about Rachel. We don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away!" said Sirius angrily. "Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of that information?"

Rachel knew they wouldn't like that answer. She couldn't blame them though. She imagined if someone had prevented her from seeing anyone she cared about when he was that seriously injured, she wouldn't be too kind to the person who was doing so.

As she had predicted, Fred and George looked as though they could not care less what the Ministry made of anything. Ron was still ashen-faced and silent. Ginny tried to reason with Sirius,

"Somebody else could have told us. We could say we heard it somewhere other than Harry."

"Like who?" Sirius said. Rachel could tell from his tone that he was getting impatient."Listen, your dad's been injured while doing work for the Order before. Besides, the circumstances are fishy enough without his children knowing about it immediately after it happened. You could really damage the Order's -"

"We don't care about the dumb Order!" shouted Fred. Rachel didn't like the way this conversation was going.

"It's our dad dying we're talking about!"yelled George.

"Your father knew what he was getting into and he certainly won't thank you later for messing things up for the Order!" said Sirius, matching George's angry tone. "This is how it is. It's why you're not in the Order. You don't understand. There are things worth dying for!'

"Easy for you to say, stuck here!" bellowed Fred. "I don't see you risking your neck!"

Rachel gasped quietly and glanced at Sirius cautiously, hating Fred in that moment. If there was one thing Rachel knew got under Sirius skin, it was this. She knew he wouldn't react well to what Fred said.

As expected, what little color that remained in Sirius's face drained from it. He looked for a moment as though he wanted to hit Fred.

"Alright, let's all calm down," Rachel intervened. "We're all tired and scared. Fighting won't help the situation."

"Rachel's right," Sirius said, sending the red head a grateful look."I know it's hard, but we've all got to act as though we don't know anything yet. We've got to stay put, at least until we hear from your mother, all right?"

Rachel nodded along in agreement.

Fred and George still looked mutinous. Ginny, however, took a few steps over to the nearest chair and sank into it. Ron made a funny movement somewhere between a nod and a shrug, and then sat down too.

The twins glared at Sirius for another minute, then took seats either side of Ginny.

"Good," said Sirius encouragingly. "Now, let's all have a drink while we're waiting. _Accio Butterbeer!"_

He raised his wand as he spoke and half a dozen bottles came flying towards them out of the pantry, skidded along the table, scattering the debris of Sirius's meal, and stopped neatly in front of the seven of them.

They all drank, and for a while the only sounds were those of the crackling of the kitchen fire and the thud of their bottles on the dining table.

After a few minutes, a sudden burst of fire in midair illuminated the dirty plates in front of them, interrupting the long held silence. Rachel looked shocked as a scroll of parchment fell with a thud on to the table, along with it a single golden colored feather.

"Fawkes!" said Sirius at once, snatching up the parchment. Rachel didn't know what Fawkes meant, but also knew it probably wasn't the best time to ask. "This doesn't look like Dumbledore's handwriting; I suppose it's a message from your mother - here -"

He handed the letter to George, who wasted no time ripping the thing open. He read the message aloud;

"Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum."

Rachel felt her stomach drop. Mrs. Weasley's wording made her feel uneasy. As she looked around, it seemed as if everyone felt the same.

"'Still alive'," George repeated slowly.

"But that makes it sound as if..."

It wasn't necessary for him to finish that sentence. Rachel also got the impression that Mr. Weasley wasn't doing so well.

Fred grabbed the letter out of George's hands and read it himself before looking up at Harry, who seemed to be trembling.

Rachel could only remember one time in her life that had been this worried. The war. Of course, those were different circumstances, as she had been worrying for more than one person. Nonetheless, she was used to the feeling. She hated sitting there, not knowing what was happening to Mr. Weasley. She couldn't even bear to think of what would happen if he didn't make it through the night. It made her sick to think how that would affect everyone. Even how it would affect her. Sure, she hadn't gotten extremely close to Mr. Weasley, but he was still family. He was one of the main reasons she had been introduced to this crazy, but fun, world. And for the second time that night, Rachel felt guilt overcome her.

_If I had only had a vision of him being attacked before it happened. He wouldn't have even been there, _she thought miserably, putting her head in her hands.

Sirius suggested once, without any real conviction, that they all go to bed, but the Weasley's' disgusted looks were answer enough.

Most of the night was spent sitting in silence, occasionally taking a sip of Butterbeer; speaking only to check the time, to wonder aloud what was happening, and to reassure one another that if there was bad news, they would know immediately , as Mrs. Weasley must have arrived at the hospital by now.

Fred fell into a doze, his head lolling sideways on to his shoulder. Ginny, although curled up in her chair, had her eyes wide open. Ron was sitting with his head in his hands, making it impossible for Rachel to tell whether he was awake or asleep.

Their waiting was interrupted at about ten in the morning when the kitchen door swung open suddenly, revealing a disheveled looking Mrs. Weasley. Her face was pallid, but when they all turned to look at her, some rising from their chairs, she gave a small, exhausted smile.

"He's going to be all right," she said finally, her voice reflecting her obvious tiredness.

"He was sleeping when I left. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him and he's going to take the morning off of work."

It was as if a weight fell off of Rachel's shoulders as she felt herself relax. She slumped in her chair, sighing with relief.

Fred fell back into the chair he had risen from with his hands going over his face. George and Ginny got up, striding towards their mother and giving her a hug. Ron gave a very shaky laugh and finished off his Butterbeer.

"Breakfast!" Sirius announced jovially, rising from his chair. "Where's that accursed house-elf? Kreacher! KREACHER!"

But Kreacher did not answer the summons. "Oh, forget it, then."

He counted the people in front of him. "So, it's breakfast for...eight then. Bacon and eggs will do, and some tea, and maybe some toast-"

Harry hurried over to the stove to help him and Rachel wasn't far behind. She wasn't sure she wanted to let Sirius anywhere near the stove anymore. Harry had barely done anything before Mrs. Weasley came over and gave him a hug, saying something that Rachel couldn't quite make out. She soon released him and turned to Sirius, thanking him for looking after her children through the night. Sirius said he was very pleased to have been able to help, and hoped they would all stay with him as long as Mr. Weasley was in the hospital.

"That might mean that we're here for Christmas," Mrs. Weasley's replied.

"The more the merrier!"Sirius exclaimed with such obvious sincerity that Mrs. Weasley beamed at him. "And besides, that means Rachel will be staying instead of going back to the Burrow with you lot."

He sent her a sincere smile which she wholeheartedly returned before she gave Mrs. Weasley a hug.

"I'm glad he's going to be okay," Rachel said softly.

After everyone finished eating breakfast, Mrs. Weasley sent Rachel, Harry and her children up to bed. Rachel was thankful, as she could feel the exhaustion from staying up all night catching up to her.

She headed up to her room, noticing that Ginny had yet to come up, and laid down on her bed, immediately falling asleep.

...

"Rachel! Rachel, wake up!"

Rachel shot up in her bed as she felt herself being shaken, rather furiously, awake by someone. As she tried to regain control of her breathing, Rachel was shocked to find that the concerned voice had belonged to Ginny, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking extremely frightened. The concern came as a surprise to her; wasn't Ginny still mad at her?

Rachel could still remember what she had just seen, grateful that Ginny had woke her up. Reliving horrific scenes she had witnessed during the war was not something she particularly enjoyed.

"Was it a vision?" Ginny asked after a few moments of silence.

Rachel shook her head, "No. Just a nightmare."

"You were talking. Pretty loudly," Ginny said. "And you wouldn't wake up when I first started shaking you. It seemed to make you worse, actually."

"I was about to get Sirius or my mum before you woke up just now," she added after Rachel didn't say anything.

An awkward silence settled between the two girls as Rachel remained silent. She didn't know how to act around Ginny. Should she apologize again? Did Ginny forgive her?

When the tension became too much to bear, Ginny stood up and said, "Ok, well... I guess I'll go back to bed."

Rachel suddenly felt sad. She was grateful that Ginny had had enough concern to wake her from her nightmare, but it still wasn't how it used to be. They didn't act the same around each other as they did before her secret came out. Normally, if either girl woke the other in the night, she and Ginny would stay up talking for awhile, comforting each other, really. Now, Ginny didn't even ask her if she wanted to talk about it.

If she had only realized that she could trust Ginny with her secret, none of this would've happened.

Rachel thought back to her conversation with Sirius; telling him about what happened in Manhattan. Maybe...

"Ginny?"

Her relative turned back quickly, looking almost hopeful. "Yeah?"

"Can I...tell you about...-"

Rachel was saved as Ginny came over to her bed and sat down across from her.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm all ears."

So she did. Rachel forgot about everything that had happened between her and Ginny and told her exactly what she had told Sirius. It felt easier this time and she could tell that Ginny was listening attentively.

When Rachel was finished, she saw that Ginny was looking at her with an odd expression. It looked to Rachel as if she looked guilty.

"I-I didn't realize that... I mean..." Ginny was struggling to find the right thing to say. "Rachel, I'm so sorry that-"

Rachel cut her, "You don't have to apolog-"

"No, I really do," Ginny said determinedly, "I've been acting really foul to you since that stupid prophecy and you didn't deserve that. I mean, were family and we became really close and I just... I-I threw it all away and... and Ron was a git and Hermione told us how sorry you were and I just ignored it."

On the outside, Rachel seemed completely calm and collected, but on the inside, she was jumping for joy, felling the happiest she had felt in the past few months. It was as if a weight that she hadn't realized was there had been lifted off of her shoulders. Ever since Ginny had left, Rachel had been concerned that Ginny would never speak to her again.

Rachel smiled at her relative, "It's fine, really. I'm just glad we're speaking again."

Ginny returned her grin and gave Rachel a one-armed hug, "Yeah, so am I."

It was at dinnertime a few nights later that Dumbledore approached Rachel with a grim expression on his face. Rachel frowned and suddenly became nervous when the old head master said, "Miss Dare, may I have a word with you in the sitting room?"

Rachel nodded slowly and got up from her seat. She could see that Ginny, who was sitting right across from her, was just as anxious as Rachel was.

The walk to the sitting room was silent and it gave Rachel just enough time to go through anything and everything that could have possible gone wrong in her head. When she sat down in the chair across from Dumbledore, Rachel began tapping her foot anxiously and picking at a loose thread on her shirt.

"Miss Dare I'm afraid that I have some troubling news for you," Dumbledore began and Rachel immediately felt dread wash over her. "Professor Snape has informed me that the Death Eaters know what you are."

Rachel's eyes widened impossibly and her heart dropped.

"Th-they know what I am?"

Dumbledore nodded somberly.

When he didn't say anything, Rachel continued, "How? How could they have possibly found out."

"Well, as you know, Lucius Malfoy had been questioning your presence with the Order and your purpose in it. And based on the vision you had, the other Death Eaters were curious too," he said.

Rachel nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"No matter how useful your visions have been to the Order, I'm afraid they are the cause of Voldemort and his followers coming to the conclusion that you are a Seer," he explained

Rachel looked confusedly at him, "But how do they know about my visions."

"The last few visions you had occurred in the near future and since we were one step ahead of the Death Eaters, we prevented the attacks before they even happened," he responded. "Because of this, I afraid that they have made the connection between your appearance in the Order and the Order knowing of their plans before they were even acted on."

Rachel didn't speak as she processed the information Dumbledore had just given her. She was in more danger now than ever before. Not only did the Death Eaters realize that she had been having vision about what they were doing, but so did Voldemort. That frightened her greatly. If he knew what she was doing for the Order, there was no doubt in her mind that he would want her dead.

"So, what does this mean?" Rachel asked quietly.

"You must never venture outside of this house. Grimmauld Place is protected by a very powerful charm so that no one may enter without my personal permission. As long as you stay in here, Voldemort and his followers will not get to you," Dumbledore explained.

Rachel nodded in understanding. She felt relieved that her safety seemed to be in good hands. She, however, still felt nervous that they could somehow find a way to her.

"I shall be informing everyone of the situation at the Order meeting tonight," Dumbledore said, rising from his seat.

Rachel nodded again and watched as Dumbledore exited the room. She put her head in her hands and sighed, wondering how everyone would react to this news. They all hadn't reacted particularly well when they found out the Death Eaters were even talking about her.

Rachel stayed in the position for a few minutes.

"Rachel," Said girl's head shot up at the call of her name. Her jaw practically hit the floor when she saw who had called her.

Annabeth's face hung in front of her in the form of an Iris message. The daughter of Athena looked disheveled. Her normally tamed curly blond hair looked about just as wild as Rachel. Her eyes were rimmed red and slightly puffy, giving Rachel the impression she had just recently got done crying. This concerned Rachel. It wasn't often that you saw Annabeth like this.

"Annabeth?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Ignoring the girls question, Annabeth spoke, "Rachel, where are you?"

"Why? What's wrong?" Rachel was getting extremely anxious again.

"We have to meet," she said. "Something happened to Percy."

**A/N: Here's chapter 16. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed followed and faved last chapter. I realized that whenever I put lines in to indicate a time skip, they don't show up in the story and I'm not sure how to get them to stay. No one voted on my poll lol so I guess I'm gonna take it down and write the story as originally planned. Please review! **


	17. Chapter 17

Rachel tapped her feet anxiously as her fingers worked furiously at tearing the hem of her green striped T-shirt. She was sitting at the kitchen table, alone, staring at the scratched wood surface in front of her. The red head had been a nervous wreck ever since last night, after she disconnected from Annabeth's very vague Iris Message. Thoughts were racing through her head as she considered what the daughter of Athena had told her. Something happened to Percy and it was imperative that the two meet as soon as possible to discuss it.

Rachel's instincts took over and she quickly agreed to meet Annabeth in a few days at the park not too far from Grimmauld Place. It was only after that she realized how stupid of a mistake she would be making if she left the house.

Dumbledore had just explicitly told her that under no circumstances should she leave the protection of Grimmauld Place. Rachel knew she was being targeted by possibly the darkest wizard of all time along with his deranged followers who probably wanted her dead. But she was also aware of the fact that she really had no other choice but to leave to meet with Annabeth. Annabeth couldn't get into Grimmauld Place without a personal invitation from Dumbledore. The old Headmaster had already agreed to let one of her friends into Headquarters, Rachel didn't want to push her luck with another one.

_Not much can happen if I just walk a few blocks away to a park,_ Rachel thought hopefully, trying to convince herself that she was making the right decision. She needed to know what had happened to Percy.

Rachel was in the middle of formulating another scenario of what could've occurred to put Annabeth in such a state when the door to the kitchen opened. Her head snapped towards the disturbance and her eyes settled on Sirius, who smiled at her. She returned the gesture halfheartedly, just barely noticing the flicker of concern in his tired gray eyes.

Sirius' presence was also something that brought about a flaw in her plan to leave the house. If Rachel was out of the house for too long, he would notice. Not to mention, Rachel could tell that he had noticed the odd change in her behavior. How she was more nervous and withdrawn than usual.

Initially, Rachel had planned to tell Sirius of her intent to leave Grimmauld Place. He, after all, understood how hard it was to be confined to one place for a long period of time. The more she thought about it, however, the more appealing the option of leaving him out of the loop became. Sirius had proved his protectiveness over Rachel before and she didn't want to risk him preventing her from leaving.

"Everyone just left for St. Mungo's to visit Arthur," Sirius said, cutting of Rachel's thoughts.

She nodded absentmindedly.

"You sure you're okay? I mean I know what Dumbledore said last night..."

Fortunately for her, Sirius had just written of Rachel's unusual demeanor as the trepidation that came with learning that Voldemort and his followers knew who she was and her involvement in the Order. Unfortunately for her, that meant that he was checking u on her constantly. She had barely had any time to herself all day.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied convincingly. "Just thinking."

Sirius nodded hesitantly, accepting her lie. "Want some tea?"

Rachel nodded gratefully and Sirius began toward the stove and began preparing tea for the two.

Sirius spoke after a few seconds, "You know, something's been bothering me ever since Dumbledore told us that Malfoy figured out your abilities."

Rachel's eyebrows furrowed, "What?"

"Well it's just... I... how could he have possibly figured that out on his own?" Sirius explained.

Rachel stayed quiet for a few moment, considering his words. She hadn't thought about it that much, considering what had happened with Annabeth. But, now that the red head pondered it, she couldn't help but agree.

"Well...yeah, I guess it is a little weird," she replied. "But how else could he have found out?"

Sirius hesitated and then said darkly, "We do have someone working for both sides, you know."

"You think Snape told him?" Rachel asked, shocked. She knew the professor didn't particularly like her, but she also doubted that he'd be so cruel to tell Lucius and, in turn, Voldemort about her.

"I'm just saying," Sirius said. "I feel as if Malfoy had to get some kind of information from someone on the inside. Someone who knew about what you are."

Rachel hesitated. Sirius had mentioned to her before that him and Snape had a past. He hadn't gotten into much detail, but he had told her enough to know that they detested each other.

"Have you told Dumbledore this?" Rachel asked. If there even was a possibility that Snape was a traitor to the Order, she knew Dumbledore should know.

Sirius scoffed, "He probably wouldn't even consider it."

He handed Rachel her steaming cup of tea and the two drank in silence, both of their minds wandering elsewhere.

Rachel didn't know whether she should seriously consider Sirius' allegations against Snape. On one hand, it was hard to believe that Lucius Malfoy would figure out so accurately that Rachel had Seeing abilities without help from someone on the inside. On the other hand, Rachel knew Sirius and Snape had bad blood between them and that Sirius' view could be hindered by his dislike for Snape.

Rachel sighed into her cup of tea, wishing that she had her art supplies right about now. Painting and drawing was always something that calmed her down. She had run out of room in her sketchbook long ago and was itching to get more. It was difficult of course, considering she hadn't been allowed out for quite some time.

Her thoughts were once again interrupted as the door swung open. Rachel noticed that the spot where Sirius had previously sat was now empty. He must've gotten up and left while she was lost in her thoughts.

She glanced at the door just in time to see a distressed looking Ginny enter the kitchen, Ron not following far behind.

"What's wrong?" Rachel immediately asked the pair.

They looked at each other and then back to Rachel before sitting across from their relative. They leaned in towards her and began speaking to her in hushed voices.

"At St. Mungo's, we heard something; Ginny, Harry, the twins and I, we were using the Extendable Ears," Ron explained. "And we heard...well...we heard that everyone thinks that You-Know-Who is possessing Harry and that's how he had the vision of dad being attacked."

Rachel's eyes widened at the revelation, and Ginny spoke next.

"They think Harry attacked dad through the snake because You-Know-Who made him."

* * *

Rachel barely slept that night and woke up later than usual, walking downstairs in a daze as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. She surprised to say the least at what she saw when she walked into the sitting room.

Her eyes had first landed on something shiny, which was directly adjacent to the dark and dreary fire place, a tall Christmas tree. The tree wasn't the thing that really surprised her, she knew that Sirius had planned on putting one up to get everyone in the Christmas spirit. It seemed that the tree had already done its job even after being there for only one morning.

Rachel smiled genuinely as she watched Sirius and Ginny at the wall opposite her, putting up more decorations. The two were wearing matching red Santa hats as they sang Christmas carols in overly exaggerated voices that made Rachel giggle. Mrs. Weasley was also in the room, cleaning up around the room as Hermione sat on a couch, reading a large book. She, too, was watching the pair with an amused expression on her face.

Before Rachel could ask what Hermione was doing there; Ron told Rachel that she was going skiing with her parents over the holiday; Ginny noticed her.

"Oh, Rachel!" she exclaimed, grabbing another hat from the table beside her. "We've been waiting for you all morning."

Rachel laughed and strode over to Ginny, accepting the hat from her relatives outstretched hand. She put it on and began joining in the festivities, even singing along to the few songs she knew, since most of what they were singing were unusual carols only magical people would understand. They spent the majority of the afternoon putting up the remaining Christmas decorations. The tarnished chandeliers were no longer had cobwebs on them but gold and silver streamers. The great Christmas tree, which Rachel found out was obtained by Mundungus was now decorated with live fairies, blocking Sirius' family tree from view. Even the stuffed elf heads on the hall wall wore Santa hats and beards.

Rachel could honestly say she had never seen Sirius in such a good mood, apparently delighted that he and Rachel would have company for Christmas. Rachel was in a similar mood. She was delighted by the distraction from thinking about her problems with Percy and the Death Eaters. She had finally felt stress free for the first time in a long time.

Her mood was lifted even further when she glanced out one of the now clean windows, thank the gods for Mrs. Weasley. The sky outside was growing whiter, threatening snow. Rachel had grown up in a place where it had always snowed, so this wasn't anything really new to her. And yet, it never ceased to excite her. She remembered when she was younger, she would have to sneak out of the house whenever it snowed. Her mom would tell her it wasn't very ladylike to go out and play in the snow and make a mess of herself, only to come back into the house and make a bigger. Of course, her mom not wanting her to do it only made Rachel want to do it more. She still remembered when she did it the first time; her mother was furious and shouted at her for a good ten minutes.

_It was still worth it though_, she thought with a smile. It was a shame she couldn't go out in it now.

Her head turned as she heard Mrs. Weasley's voice drift from the kitchen, announcing that lunch was ready. As she made her way to the kitchen, she passed Mrs. Weasley, who was calling up to Harry. Seeing this troubled her, as she realized that she hadn't seen the black haired boy downstairs at all that morning. She knew it had something to do with what Ginny and Ron had told her yesterday. It was obvious that Harry had been distancing himself from everyone else.

She entered the kitchen where Ron, Ginny, Fred and George were already seated and eating. Fred and George were off on one end of the table, leaning towards each other, whispering harshly back and forth, clearly having a discussion they didn't want anyone else to hear.

Rachel grabbed a plate of food just as Hermione walked in. They both sat down with Ron and Ginny.

"Do you reckon Harry'll come down?" Ron asked.

"Probably not," Hermione responded, sighing concernedly.

"Well, it's a bit stupid of him if he doesn't," said Ginny angrily, "it isn't as if he knows someone who knows what it's like to be possessed by You-Know-Who," she added sarcastically.

Rachel furrowed her brows in confusion. Ginny made it sound like they did know someone that had been , "What do you mean?"

All three looked at her as if they had just realized she was there.

"Oh, yeah," Ginny said slowly, suddenly seeming uncomfortable, "I'll tell you later."

He promise was unconvincing and Rachel vowed to ask her what she meant later.

"We should go up there," Hermione insisted, "Talk to him. He hasn't eaten anything or talked to anyone all day."

"No," Ron replied, " Just let him come down on his own. He obviously wants to be on his own."

Hermione sighed in defeat, reluctantly agreeing to leave Harry alone for now.

* * *

It was around six o'clock that evening that Hermione snapped.

"I'm going to go talk to him," she said, standing up suddenly from the couch she and Ron had been sharing. "This has gone on for long enough. He's got to get over it"

Ron didn't argue with her this time, just sighed and stood up, following her out into the hallway. Ginny followed suit and Rachel, having nothing else to do, decided she would tag along.

"He's in Buckbeak's room," Rachel informed when Hermione began to mutter about needing to find out where exactly he was. "I tried to go in there before to feed him, but the door was locked and no one else could have been in there."

And so they headed in the direction of Buckbeak's room. Hermione hammered hard on the door upon their arrival, shocking Rachel.

"I know you're in there," said Hermione. "Please come out? I want to talk to you."

"What are _you _doing here?" Harry asked her, pulling open the door, surprised to not only see Hermione but also Ron, Ginny and Rachel standing behind her. Buckbeak was behind him, scratching at the straw-strewn floor for any food that might be there. "I thought you were skiing with your mum and dad."

"Well, to tell the truth, skiing's not _really _my thing," said Hermione. "Mum and Dad were a bit disappointed, but I've told them that everyone who's serious about the exams is staying at Hogwarts to study. They want me to do well, they'll understand. Anyway," she said briskly, "let's go to your bedroom, we'll light a fire and take some of Mrs. Weasley's sandwiches up there."

Harry surprisingly complied and followed the four down to the kitchen. Once they were settled on Ron and Harry's beds, the glow of the warming fire illuminating the features of the five teenagers, Hermione began explaining further how she had gotten here.

"I came on the Knight Bus this morning," said Hermione airily, "Dumbledore told me what had happened first thing this morning. Umbridge is already livid that you lot

disappeared right under her nose, even though Dumbledore told her Mr. Weasley was in St. Mungo's, and he'd given you all permission to visit. So . . ."

"How're you feeling?" asked Hermione.

"Fine," said Harry stiffly, obviously lying. He was purposely avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"Oh, stop lying, Harry," she said impatiently. "Ron and Ginny say you've been hiding from everyone since you got back from St. Mungo's."

"They do, do they?" said Harry, glaring at Ron and Ginny. Ron looked down at his feet but Ginny seemed unfazed.

"Well, you have!" she said. "And you won't look at any of us!"

"It's all of you who won't look at me!" Harry said harshly.

"Maybe you're taking it in turns to look and keep missing each other," Hermione suggested, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards, clearly amused with herself. Even Rachel had to smile at her friends terrible attempt to lighten the mood.

"Very funny," snapped Harry, turning away.

"Oh, stop feeling all misunderstood," said Hermione sharply, her terse tone surprising Rachel. "Look, the others have told me what you overheard last night on the

Extendable Ears -"

"Of course they have," Harry growled out, his hands deep in his pockets as he found interest in the snow outside, now falling thickly. "All been talking about me, have

you? Well, I'm getting used to it ..."

"We wanted to talk _to you, _Harry," said Ginny, "but as you've been hiding ever since we got back —"

"I didn't want anyone to talk to me, or to talk to anyone for that matter," said Harry, looking exasperated.

"Well, that was a bit stupid of you," said Ginny angrily, "seeing as you don't know anyone but _me_ who's been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels."

_Wait, what? _Rachel's eyes widened impossibly and she had to keep her jaw from dropping completely to the floor. Rachel thought she must have heard Ginny wrong. She could've sworn she heard her say it was _her_ that had been possessed by You-Know-Who. But that was impossible... wasn't it.

No one noticed Rachel's flabbergasted expression. She was too shocked to speak up.

"I forgot," Harry replied lamely.

"Lucky you," said Ginny coldly.

"I'm sorry," Harry said genuinely. "So . . . so do you think I'm being possessed, then?"

"Well, can you remember everything you've been doing?" Ginny asked. "Are there big blank periods where you don't know what you've been up to?" She interrogated, clearly knowing what she was talking about.

"No," he said.

"Then You-Know-Who hasn't ever possessed you," said Ginny simply. "When he did it to me, I couldn't remember what I'd been doing for hours at a time. I'd find myself somewhere and not know how I got there."

Harry looked as if he truly wanted to believe her but wasn't completely convinced.

"That dream I had about your dad and the snake, though-" Harry tried, but Hermione immediately cut off.

"Harry, you've had these dreams before," Hermione said. "You had flashes of what Voldemort was up to last year."

"Yeah. That's right, you did," Ron suddenly said.

"This was different," Harry argued, shaking his head. "I was inside that snake. It was like I _was _the snake. . . . What if Voldemort somehow transported me to London-?"

"One day," said Hermione, sounding thoroughly exasperated, "you'll read _Hogwarts, A History, _and perhaps that will remind you that you can't Apparate or Disapparate inside Hogwarts. Even Voldemort couldn't just make you fly out of your dormitory, Harry."

"You didn't leave your bed, mate," said Ron. "I saw you thrashing around in your sleep about a minute before we could wake you up. . . ."

Harry started pacing up and down the room.

Rachel smiled as after a few moments of tense silence, they heard Sirius tramping past their door toward Buckbeak's room, singing "God Rest Ye Merry, Hippogriffs" at the top of his voice. This Christmas was going to be her best yet.


	18. Chapter 18

Later that same night, Rachel found herself wringing her hands nervously as she stood in front of the door to her own room. The red head was current The red head was currently debating with herself whether she should go in and talk to Ginny. She desperately wanted to question Ginny about the whole You-Know-Who possessing her thing, but she also didn't want to force Ginny to tell her anything she didn't want to.

She sighed and opened the door before she could change her mind. When she entered, she saw that Ginny was sitting on her bed, using a quill to scrawl something out on the parchment in front of her.

"Hey- uh- Ginny?"

"Yeah," she replied, not even looking up.

"I was just -uh - wondering if I could ask you about something you said before."

She looked up at Rachel in confusion, "What did I say?"

"The thing you said to Harry when you told him he should have come to you since you know what it's like to be possessed by You-Know-Who."

Realization dawned on Ginny's face and she immediately looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Oh, yeah," she mumbled almost incoherently, "I forgot you didn't know."

After a few moments of silence, Rachel sat down on the bed across from her relative.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Rachel said softly. "I was just... confused."

"No," Ginny said quickly, "I want to tell you. I've been wanting, well, trying, to tell you ever since you told me about..." she trailed off.

"Oh," Rachel sad understandingly.

It was silent for a few moment again. Rachel didn't want to push Ginny, who was currently picking at the end of her parchment.

"It happened in my first year of Hogwarts, when I was 11. I was so naive and lonely..." she started. "I had gone shopping at Diagon Alley for my school supplies and when I got how I had found a diary with all the other stuff I had gotten. I hadn't picked it out, so I assumed my dad had for me."

She paused.

"I had started to write in it at school... and it wrote back."

Rachel's eyes widened in confusion, "It wrote back?"

Ginny nodded, "I know it sounds crazy. I should have brought it to a teacher as soon as it happened but... I hadn't make many friends and, well, he was nice to me," she said.

"He?" Rachel asked

"Tom," she explained. "The one who wrote back to me. I would tell him how my brothers would tease me, and how I had to go to school with secondhand robes and books. " Her face turned slightly red.

"Anyway," she continued shakily. "Weird things started happening to me. I would black out for a few hours and end up in places I hadn't started in. I couldn't remembered what I had done. It was frightening, but I still didn't say anything to anyone."

Rachel was hanging on to every word the younger girl said.

"I realized a little too late that the diary was what was causing it. That Tom was making me do bad things. I tried to get rid of it, but... I ended up getting it back. Harry... he almost died because of what I did." Her voice cracked and Rachel was immediately by her side, an arm slung comfortingly over Ginny's shoulder.

She went into more detail, explaining exactly what happened in the Chamber of Secrets to Rachel. The older girl listened, squeezing Ginny's shoulders and making comments when she thought necessary. She was shocked when Ginny revealed that Tom was actually a younger version of Voldemort and that he had put himself in the diary when he was at Hogwarts. Magic really was weird.

"That's why I always have the nightmares," Ginny explained, looking nervous. "It's always about him and I in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Have you ever told anyone about them? Your brothers or your parents?"

She shook her head quickly, "I don't want them making a big deal," she said and Rachel nodded in understanding.

Rachel suddenly remembered that it was the next morning that she would be meeting Annabeth about Percy. She knew she should go to sleep soon, considering she'd have to get up extremely early in the morning.

As if reading her mind, Ginny spoke, "We should really be getting to bed. I' glad we talked tonight."

"Me too," Rachel said genuinely, her lips forming a small smile.

She walked over to her own bed, saying goodnight to Ginny as she turned off the light. Despite the anxiety she was feeling about the following morning, Rachel felt sleep overtake her quickly.

* * *

Rachel rubbed her eyes tiredly as she awoke the next morning. She had purposefully woken up earlier then everyone else that day. Today was the day that she would leave Grimmauld place.

Rachel had told Annabeth to meet her at the park in the very early hours of the morning She did this in the hopes that she could leave the house and come back before anyone would even wake up, before anyone could notice she was gone. Whether this would work or not, well, she was about to find out.

She climbed slowly and carefully out of bed, mindful not to wake Ginny or Hermione as she tiptoed over to the dresser. She pulled on her warm green parka over her pajamas, a pair of gloves and a wool hat. She had to borrow a pair of Hermione's boots as she didn't have any and the snow that fell yesterday had yet to melt.

The creaky floorboards did nothing to help her as she made her way down the stairs and toward the door. The door that led to the outside world she had missed for so many months. She was more than excited to finally breathe in fresh air again.

She hesitated as she reached for the doorknob. She remembered Dumbledore's words, _"Grimmauld Place is protected by a very powerful charm..."._ Rachel was suddenly nervous. What if some kind of magical alarm went off when she opened the door? But that wasn't possible; she had seen plenty of people come and go through Grimmauld Place.

Having no other choice, she turned the knob and opened the door before she could change her mind. A gust of freezing wind hit her face and she shivered, walking out quickly and shutting the door quietly behind her. The sky was still dark. Rachel hurried down the stairs and onto the sidewalk, beginning her journey to the park she had told Annabeth to meet her at. She had seen it on the walk to King's Cross Station.

By the time she arrived at her destination, the sky had turned grey and her face was pink from the cold. From what she could see, Annabeth wasn't there yet, so Rachel wiped the layer of snow off of one of the benches and settled herself onto its cold wooden surface.

She fidgeted nervously, frequently checking over her shoulder to make sure she was still alone. She thought it was unlikely that any Death Eaters would find her here, but that didn't mean she wasn't anxious.

"Rachel?" Said girl jumped when she heard the voice from behind her.

"Annabeth," she said, relived, "You're here."

Annabeth was dressed similarly to Rachel and she looked considerably better than the last time Rachel had seen her. He hair was now tamed and her expression was calm.

"Yeah," she replied, sitting down next to Rachel, "I got Blackjack to bring me here."

"What's happened to Percy?" Rachel asked, wasting no time.

Annabeth frowned and she suddenly seemed slightly frustrated, "We don't know."

"What do you mean," Rachel inquired, trying to keep the irritation from leaking into her voice.

"He went missing. The day before I called you," Annabeth explained. "He had come to camp for winter break and everything was fine." She got a faraway look in her eyes, as if she were remembering something. "A-and then he just disappeared. No one could find him. Chiron called Sally, she hasn't seen him either."

Rachel's already present frown deepened.

"Have you tried an Iris Message?" She asked, although she feared she already knew the answer.

"Yes. It just won't connect," she said. "I've been looking for him ever since and I've got nothing. It's like he disappeared out of thin air," Annabeth sounded desperate and despairing.

Rachel instantly remembered the last time she had seen Percy, when he had visited her at Grimmauld Place. He had seemed so carefree, well as carefree as someone with his life could be. She knew as well as anyone else that Percy didn't deserve this. He had already been through so much and he was only sixteen. Rachel suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to cry for her friend. She knew she shouldn't be thinking the worst, but what if something really bad had already happened to Percy.

Rachel looked over to Annabeth, who now had unshed tears in her eyes.

She put her hand on the blonde's arm, attempting to comfort her, "Hey, it's gonna be okay. You know Percy, he's probably fine wherever he is."

Annabeth nodded and wiped her eye, looking as if she was scolding herself for showing weakness in front of Rachel, "Yeah, I hope so," she got that faraway look in her eyes again. "Anyway, I really came here to see if you've seen anything about him. Or if maybe a prophecy you've given?"

"No," Rachel said, frustrated. The only things she had had visions about recently were related to the magical world.

Annabeth sighed in defeat and nodded sadly.

There were a few moments of silence between the two before Annabeth spoke again. She seemed hesitant about what she wanted to say.

"Uh, Rachel," she started reluctantly." I mean- I know Percy told me that you were here visiting family and that you wouldn't be leaving for awhile, but..." she trailed off.

"Yeah?" Rachel asked, confused as to where she was going with this.

"I think you should come back with me. To camp."

"I can't," was Rachel's immediate reply.

Annabeth seemed to become slightly angered by her response.

"Why not," she demanded. "I thought you didn't even like your family, and now all of a sudden they're more important than Percy?"

Rachel didn't exactly know why, but Annabeth harsh words stung her.

"You don't understand, I shouldn't even be here with you right now."

This, understandably, confused Annabeth, "What do you mean?"

"It doesn't matter," Rachel said, irate. "All that matters is that I can't leave here right now or my life is in danger." Right as she said the words, she realized how selfish they must have sounded.

"Percy's life could be in danger right now," Annabeth responded hopelessly.

Rachel bit her lip. She did want to help find Percy, she really did, he was her best friend. But what about Ginny, or Sirius, or the entire Order. They were all depending on her. And then there was the fact that Dumbledore had explicitly told her not to leave Grimmauld Place or else she was in danger. She wasn't much use to anybody if she was dead.

"I'm sorry Annabeth," Rachel said guiltily." But I really can't leave. I promise, if I even see a glimpse of Percy in a vision or give a prophecy, I will call you right away."

Annabeth looked disappointed, but sighed in defeat and nodded. They fell into a tense silence yet again. This time, it was Rachel who interrupted it.

"So there's absolutely nothing that could tell you where he could've gone?"

The daughter of Athena remained mute for a few moments, "Well... actually... there was a few days ago. We had thought it was him. I had a sort of vision, tellig me to go find a boy with one shoe, I thought it meant Percy. It wasn't him though. It was three demigods, at the Grand Canyon, being attacked by a storm spirit. We brought the three to Camp after. Chiron thinks they may be significant somehow," she finished.

"What are their names?" Rachel inquires curiously.

"Um... Jason, Piper and Leo. Wh-"

Before Annabeth could finish, Rachel felt something inside of her switch on like a light. She clutched the demigods arm, her eyes beginning to glow green, familiar green smoke flowing out of her mouth as she began to speak in a voice that wasn't her own,

_" __Child of Lightning, beware the earth,_

_The giants' revenge the seven shall birth,_

_The forge and dove shall break the cage,_

_And death unleash, through Hera's rage."_

Rachel coughed and spluttered once she finished, holding onto Annabeth for support. The blonde looked confused at the word of the prophecy, but delighted at the thought that maybe it would help her find Percy.

"What did I say?" Rachel asked as her breathing became even again. Annabeth repeated the words to Rachel, who listened intently. Annabeth looked as if she was already trying to decipher what the lines meant.

"I don't know what it means yet, but I have to bring it back and tell Chiron," Annabeth said excitedly, standing up from her seat on the bench. Rachel noticed that the sun was now up and there were now people, very few, now walking the streets of London. Rachel knew she should probably get back to Grimmauld Place soon. She stood along with Annabeth.

"Thank you Rachel," Annabeth said honestly. "And it's fine if you don't want to come back to Camp. Unless you want to change your mind..."

Rachel gave her a small smile, "No, thanks. I'm sure I want to stay."

"Alright, well, I should be leaving. Blackjack and I have got a long way home."

The two said their goodbyes and Rachel set off on her way back to Grimmauld Place. She yawned as she walked along. Giving that prophecy had really taken a toll on her, add to that the fact that she had woken up so early that morning.

Suddenly, Rachel felt goosebumps grow on the back of her neck. She had the not so nice feeling that someone was watching her. She shook it off, walking along as she blamed the thoughts on her nervousness.

But she couldn't ignore it any longer as she heard heavy footsteps not far behind her. Her breathing quickened as she debated with herself whether she should look back at her follower. Maybe it's just some normal person walking the same way as her. She quickened her pace as. She felt dread fill her completely as she heard the footsteps behind her speed up as well. Rachel suddenly regretted leaving to talk to Annabeth. She should have listened to Dumbledore.

Rachel dared to look over her shoulder, her fear increasing as she saw the intimidating looking man wearing a long black cloak. Rachel felt shivers travel down her spine when the man smirked, noticing her gaze on him.

That's when she began panicking. How was she supposed to get out of this? She couldn't walk into Grimmauld Place in front of this man, then he'd see where Headquarters were.

So she did the only thing she could think of. She ran

Surprisingly, she didn't hear the man running after her. She looked back and silently curse as she saw him pulling out his wand.

"Stupefy," she hear his deep voice.

Rachel felt something hit her forcefully in the back as she fell to the ground. The last coherent thought she had was of how stupid she was for leaving. Then, everything went black.

**A/N: It's been pretty long since I last updated. I apologize for that, life has been crazy. I don't even want to talk about how many times I rewrote these two chapters lol. I just kept not liking what I was writing. I originally had it as one chapter, but then I figured it was too long and broke it up into two. I actually told someone a few weeks ago that I was going to update within a week a really long time ago. Oops. I only did because I really thought I was going to but then I decided to rewrite it, so sorry about that too. Thank you if you followed or favorited since I last updated and also if you reviewed. I love reading them. Oh, also this story is now a year old. It happened in April, but yeah, thanks if you've been here since then. Also, just a reminder, the poll, Should Rachel go to Hogwarts is still up on my profile, so please go vote on that. Ok that's it I think. Thanks a lot for reading, I hope you enjoyed :D Please review, I really appreciate the feedback. **


	19. Chapter 19

Rachel groaned quietly as she regained consciousness, clutching her head tightly. She had a splitting headache and her entire body felt sore. It took her a few moments to recall what had occurred while walking back to Grimmauld Place. She detached her hands from her head quickly, her eyes shooting open as she flung herself into a sitting position.

Her breathing quickened as she looked around her. Darkness. That was all she saw. The only thing she could hear were the strangled gasps she was now making. She felt beneath her frantically, finding that she was seated on a cold, hard surface, most likely concrete. The air around her was musty and cold. Clearly, there was no heating here, and the fact that it was the middle of December didn't help.

Rachel took a few deep, calming breaths, forcing herself to relax. It would do her no good to panic in a situation like this.

She wondered briefly how long she had been out. With no windows or clock, it was impossible for Rachel to tell what time of day it was. She could remember everything as if it had just happened. Being followed by what she could only assume was a Death Eater, him pulling his wand out and hitting her with a spell which knocked her down and sent her into unconsciousness.

And now here she was. Wherever here was.

Rachel slowly rose to her feet, wincing slightly at the pain the action brought her. From the dull ache in her face, Rachel could tell that she had fallen on the sidewalk a lot harder than she thought.

Putting her hands out in front of her, the red head blindly began walking. What she hoped to find, she had no idea. A light switch would be helpful. After a few minutes, Rachel had successfully run into the wall twice and stepped on what she assumed was a rusty old nail. Defeated, she slumped against the wall, cradling her injured face in her hands.

_Why am I so reckless sometimes_, she thought miserably. She should've insisted that she and Annabeth simply speak about Percy over Iris Message. That it wasn't necessary that they meet in person, which it really wasn't. Maybe Dumbledore wouldn't even have minded letting Annabeth into Grimmauld Place. Rachel knew she should have at least asked. It was because of her own stupidity that she was in this position. Taken by the group of people that wanted her dead. And what could she do about it? She was no witch or demigod. Her self-pitying thoughts were interrupted as she heard heavy footsteps and muffled voices above her.

Slowing her breathing, she remained as still as possible, straining her ears, trying to catch anything she could. She felt a jolt of fear as she realized they were getting louder, sounding now as if they were directly above her. There were two of them, definitely men, though she couldn't tell specifically what they were saying.

Suddenly, the talking stopped and she heard one set of footsteps head in one direction, while the ones belonging to the other man pounded in the opposite.

Rachel froze and her eyes widened as she heard the distinct sound of the unlocking of a door directly across the room.

Without warning, light flooded into the room and Rachel instinctively raised her arm to shield her eyes. Once adjusted, she looked toward the open door fearfully. She could tell now that she was in a cellar of some sorts. Completely empty besides a few unlit lanterns and dusty objects scattered across the floor. Like she had guessed, concrete made up the walls, floors and low ceilings. The open door revealed a staircase, though Rachel was unable to see where it led.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the doorway. Rachel immediately knew it wasn't the Death Eater that attacked her. This guy was much shorter and slightly chubbier.

As he made his way towards her, Rachel was horrified to find that she actually recognized him. He had grubby skin, small watery eyes, and a pointed nose, all features which made him resemble a rat. His hair was a mousy brown color, clearly thinning and Rachel could clearly see bald patches throughout. In place of his right arm was a shining silver, glove-like replacement.

_Wormtail_, Rachel thought, quite disgusted with the man in front of her. Not only did she know him as the one who had killed Cedric from the vision she had last summer, but also as the one who'd put Sirius in Azkaban for 12 years.

"O-on your feet!" he squeaked out, sounding a bit nervous himself.

Rachel complied hesitantly, unnerved by the shaking wand he was pointing at her.

"_Incarcerous,_" thin cords shot from his wand, wrapping themselves tightly around Rachel's wrists, securing her hand behind her back.

She would've rolled her eyes if the situation weren't so serious. What did they think she could do? They were the ones with the wands, not her.

Wormtail gripped her right arm, tighter than she would've liked, and guided her towards the door. He dragged Rachel up the stairs harshly, making her hiss in pain frequently. They walked through the door at the top of the stairs and Rachel was yet again surprised as she recognized where she was. It was the room from her first vision about Voldemort and Bellatrix. If not for the current circumstances, Rachel would've been impressed. Whosever house this was, they were clearly no stranger to money. It was a wide room. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, several portraits lining the dark purple walls. Two figures were sat in chairs in front of an ornate marble fireplace, a boy and woman, looking quite casual, as if there wasn't a tied up girl being dragged up from the cellar. Rachel assumed they were related, probably mother and son, given their similar features. The woman was slim, quite beautiful and very pale. She had blue eyes and blonde hair which was pulled into an elegant up do. The boy was slender with sleek white-blond hair, cold grey eyes and a pale complexion identical to his mothers. He looked to be around her age, having rather sharp, pointed features. Rachel had only ever seen one other person with that platinum blonde hair.

Lucius Malfoy.

Someone she knew was a Death Eater. Could the two be related? Rachel didn't doubt it.

The boy at least had the decency to look uncomfortable, looking anywhere in the room but her. His mother, however, was looking straight at Rachel, disgust evident on her face. The grip around her bicep tightened and Wormtail tugged her along sharply. Yep, that was definitely going to bruise.

He led her out of the room and down a dimly lit corridor at such a fast pace that Rachel tripped over her own feet. He, of course, didn't care and kept going, leaving Rachel no choice but to stumble along with him.

Finally they stopped at a door near the end of the corridor. She didn't know why, but Rachel suddenly felt fear fill here entire being. She got the very distinct feeling that she didn't want to find out what awaited her on the other side of the door.

Wormtail threw the door open, forcing Rachel across the threshold and into a large room. It looked like some sort of study to Rachel. Bookshelves filled to the brim lined all four of the dark green walls, bar a space on one of them where a beautifully dark fireplace was. There was a desk in the middle of the room as well as armchairs scattered throughout. It reminded her of a much larger version of the library at Grimmauld Place.

Rachel then noticed that they were not alone. She swallowed thickly as she observed a handful of people, standing on a some kind of half circle. Each one was dressed in dark robes, glaring at her menacingly. Rachel had never been one for having all eyes on her, and even now, all she wanted to do was run in the opposite direction. She recognized Lucius Malfoy and the man who brought her here. Even Snape was there. She had no idea whether to feel relieved or not. She knew he wouldn't break his cover for her, but it was good to know someone in the Order knew where she was.

Rachel suddenly caught sight of her reflection in the mirror over the fireplace, a great gilded thing in an intricately scrolled frame. Her right cheek was swollen and very clearly bruised. Also adorning her face were angry red scrapes, present on the same cheek, as well as the right side of her forehead.

Her observations were cut off by a voice which made her heart skip a beat, chills running down her spine.

"Ah, Wormtail, I see you have brought our guest."

She couldn't help her eyes widen slightly at the truly terrifying sight that was Voldemort. He was dressed in, not really surprisingly, black robes. He held his wand in his long, crooked fingers, and although it hung at his side, it was still as threatening to Rachel as if he was pointing it at her face.

Wormtail guided her to the middle of the room, shoving her down to the floor so that she was on her knees in front of everyone.

Rachel absentmindedly tugged at her restraints, the severity of the situation finally setting in. She was all but defenseless in front of these people. The danger was real. So real that one stupid mistake had cost her her freedom, now possibly even her life.

"How are you feeling this evening, Miss Dare?" she shuddered when he said her name. "I do hope that you found the cellar quite comfortable."

Rachel stayed quiet, trying to keep her gaze steely as she looked at Voldemort. Sure, she was scared, probably more terrified than she had ever been in her life, but she wasn't going to show him that.

"I assume you know why you are here today," he continued. "Your most unique abilities have been brought to my attention."

He began circling her slowly.

"A muggle," he spat out, sounding disgusted, a few of his followers making similar sounds in agreement. "who possesses the Sight _and_ the ability to prophesize."

This caught Rachel off guard. How could Voldemort have possibly known that she could give prophecies? Her mind flashed back to the conversation she and Sirius had about Snape. She was beginning to think that maybe Sirius' allegation against the professor weren't so farfetched.

"Normally, this would be of no concern to me, however," he stopped in front of Rachel, who had to resist the urge to whimper in fear as he pointed hi wand towards her, the tip of it only a few inches from her face. "you have been interfering with my cause, Seeing what I have planned before I, myself have even thought of it."

He pressed his wand into her cheek, and Rachel, against her own wishes, quickened her breathing, "I would like to know how."

She remained silent still.

"Tell me," he urged.

"No," Rachel spoke for the first time, surprised by how steady her voice was.

"No?" he said, sounding amused.

He raised his wand and Rachel breathed deeply in anticipation. Nothing however could've prepared her for what was about to happen.

"_Crucio_."

The pain Rachel felt was indescribable. It was beyond anything she had ever experienced; her bones felt like they were on fire. It was so intense, so all-consuming, that she no longer knew where she was. She could hear herself screaming, louder than she probably had before.

Finally, after an unidentifiable amount of time, she felt it lift and was left gasping for breath as she attempted to recover from the attack. Despite her best efforts, Rachel could feel tears rolling down her cheeks.

"You will tell me what else you've seen," Voldemort said, unfazed.

Rachel just sat there silently, shaking and twitching every so often. She would die before she gave him any information, she knew that.

After a few moments, Voldemort spoke again, sounding not at all surprised by Rachel's resistance, "No? Well, I shall find out for myself, then."

Rachel was confused by this, and flinched horribly when he raised his hand to her face, grasping her chin and forcing her to look up at him. He stared into her eyes. ,She felt a familiar tugging at the back of her mind and Rachel immediately recognized what Voldemort was attempting to do. He was trying to perform Legilimency on her. She could've cried with relief. She felt the spirit within her come forward and instantly, the tugging lessened.

"What is this," he said quietly. She actually smiled at Voldemort's confused and frustrated expression. He fought the Oracle, trying to push past it and into Rachel's mind. She felt the spirit shove back, eventually succeeding in propelling the invader from its host's mind.

Despite her grave situation, Rachel actually began to laugh, delighted, "Can't see anything, can you?"

Voldemort looked furious as his grip on her chin tightened painfully. He threw her to the side with a yell. With her hands still tied, Rachel had no way to cushion her fall and hissed in agony when she landed painfully on her shoulder.

"_Crucio_," he yelled, much more forcefully this time.

Even though she expected the pain, it was still overpowering. She writhed and screamed. White-hot knives were piercing every inch of her skin, and it felt as though her head was going to burst open.

After what felt like ages, she was once again freed from the curse. She felt exhaustion overcome her as she laid on the floor, a sheen of sweat covering her skin. She vaguely registered Voldemort walking towards her. He raised his wand slightly_. This is it_, she thought. He was going to kill her. Voldemort knew he couldn't get any information from her. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think of anything besides what was happening in the present moment.

She thought of Percy, her best friend, who was now missing and probably in danger. Not very unusual for someone like him. She thought of Ginny. She had grown so close to the younger girl, she now considered her the sibling she never. She thought of Sirius, someone she had let in so easily, told him so many things she was unable to tell others. Someone she could trust. She thought of everyone else she had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know over the past few months. She'd give anything to be able to see any of those people once more.

Rachel felt a few stray tear fall down her face.

"I could kill you," Voldemort said, making Rachel open her eyes. "However, you could prove to be most useful."

"I'd never help you," Rachel spat.

He ignored her, "Wormtail, take Miss Dare back to the cellar."

She cried out when she felt a hand roughly seize her, pulling her up into a standing position. Rachel took one last look around the room, her eyes lingering on Snape. His face was as it usually looked, devoid of any real emotion. She could only hope that he would somehow get the Order to rescue her.

Unfortunately, Rachel couldn't exactly support her own weight, so that left her being practically dragged by Wormtail back to the cellar. As they passed through the sitting room again, Rachel barely noticed that the mother and son were still sitting there. Wormtail opened the door, quickly pulling Rachel along down the steep staircase. Carelessly, he threw her to the concrete floor, forcing her to cry out as she landed on her already injured shoulder.

She heard Wormtail scuttle out of the room, shutting the door behind him. And, once again, Rachel was left in complete darkness, shivering slightly.

It took a few minutes for Rachel to really process what had just occurred. Once she did, she began crying uncontrollably, frustrated that Wormtail hadn't bothered untying her. She couldn't even bring herself to care that anyone might hear her cries.

Rachel desperately wished she wasn't alone. She wanted someone there with her. Sirius, Ginny, Hermione, she wouldn't even mind if her parents showed up at that point. She could remember a few times her mother had comforted her when she went into hysterics.

Eventually, Rachel felt herself slipping into unconsciousness, praying to the gods that by the time she woke up, she'd be out of this horrible place.

**:::::MEANWHILE:::::**

Severus Snape hurried along the streets of London. He was already late to the emergency Order meeting Albus had called. When he was first told about it, he couldn't guess what it was regarding. After all, he knew what Voldemort was up to and since the attack on Arthur Weasley, that had been nothing. But then, he had been called to Malfoy Manor, and now he knew exactly what, or rather who, everyone was so concerned about.

The Dare girl had gone and gotten herself taken by the Death Eaters. When he'd arrived at Malfoy Manor, Nott was gloating about how he had seen her walking around London, all on her own, stunned her, and taken her straight to the Dark Lord.

He couldn't help but be astounded by her stupidity, walking around the city alone, even when Albus had told her to stay within Grimmauld Place.

Once he reached his destination, he swiftly looked around, making sure he wasn't followed, before walking up the steps and through the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place.

He strode through the door of the kitchen, hardly surprised to find chaos. No one noticed his appearance at first.

"Mum, we need to know what happened to Rachel," the Weasley girl said desperately. The Weasley children, Potter and Granger stood behind her, nodding in agreement.

"No!" Molly shouted. "I forbid it! You are not staying for the meeting. Now, all of you, upstairs!"

"Sirius," Potter tried.

"Harry, go upstairs," Snape was surprised by this. Apparently, so was his godson.

Reluctantly, they all headed towards the door, realizing that no one was on their side tonight. It was after they had all left the room that Snape's presence was realized.

"Oh, Snivellus. Finally decided to show up, eh?" Lupin gave his friend a warning look.

Snape arched an eyebrow at the Animagus, surprised by the toll that the girl's disappearance had taken on him. Snape took notice of the dark circles under Sirius' eyes, which were much more pronounced than usual. His overall appearance looked more disheveled than normal.

Snape began pacing towards his chair when he finally spoke, "She is at Malfoy Manor."

Unsurprisingly, an uproar occurred at his statement.

"She's _where_?" Black was the first to yell, followed by others shouting similar things. Snape noticed Molly Weasley was holding her face in her hands, sobbing as Lupin attempted to comfort her.

Albus eventually calmed things down turning towards Snape, "Tell us everything, Severus."

And so he did. He told them all how she'd been taken

Albus nodded gravely, "Yes, that is what I'd expected," sounding slightly disappointed that she'd left against his wishes.

"I don't get it," Black chimed in. "She wouldn't just leave on her own, without telling anyone."

"Well she did, Black," Snape put in harshly. "And now her stupidity is getting her tortured by the Dark Lord."

Nobody spoke at that. The only thing that could be heard were the cries of Molly Weasley. Snape saw Lupin offer to take her outside, but she declined with a soft, "No, no... I need to stay."

"Snape...," Black began fearfully. "What happened?"

"He questioned her about her abilities," Snape said simply."She did not answer. So he used the Cruciatus curse on her."

Black stood up furiously, making his way towards Snape angrily, drawing his wand out on the way. Snape mimicked his actions, standing up to meet him.

"And you did nothing?" Black yelled, ignoring Mad-Eye and Lupin, who were now trying to hold him off. Snape stood unwavering, staring coolly at Black. "You just stood there and watched as he tortured her. As he tortured a _child_."

"She means nothing to me. It was her own ignorance which-" he began, but was cut off as Black broke free, charging at Snape, wand forgotten as he attacked Snape's face with his fist.

He could only get in one punch, however, before the headmaster stepped in.

"Enough," he said sternly. "Sirius, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down or you will have to leave."

Black reluctantly stepped down, walking back to his seat, sulking. Snape sat back down, thoroughly annoyed as he quickly cleaned the blood now dripping from his nose with his wand.

"Now," Albus began. "As terrible as the actions against Miss Dare were, I'm afraid Severus was right not to stop Voldemort, as his cover would have been compromised and the trust he has gained would be gone."

Black looked like he would've loved to disagree, but, smartly, he kept his mouth shut.

"Anything else, Severus?"

"The Dark Lord attempted to perform Legilimency on Miss Dare, but he was obviously unsuccessful," Everyone nodded at this, aware of her apparent immunity to Legilimency. "Miss Dare then further displayed her ignorance by laughing in The Dark Lord's face and subsequently was put under the Cruciatus curse for the second time."

Another shocked silence after this.

Snape continued, "He has decided as of now that he will not kill the girl in hopes that he may use her abilities to his benefit. However, I fear he will not be patient."

"Then," Albus said, breaking the silence. "We must quickly find a way to return Miss Dare to safety as soon as possible."

And so they got to work.

**:::::MEANWHILE:::::(OVER)**

**(Back to Malfoy Manor)**

Rachel awoke sometime later, blinking her eyes open slowly. The first thing she registered was the pain. Every joint and muscle in her body was sore and stiff, after effects of the curse, she guessed. Her face still stung and her shoulder still hurt whenever she moved it. She guessed it was dislocated.

She sighed miserably, putting her head in her hands at the fact that she was still stuck in this hell hole.

_Wait..._ Rachel thought, staring at her unbound hands confusedly. And then she realized, she could _see_ her hands, like the lights were on. She looked around seeing that the previously unlit lanterns now blazed brightly. And, she noticed, it was now warm, as if somebody had turned the heating up. Had one of the Death Eaters come down just to untie her and give her light. She doubted it. It was impossible one of them would go out of their way to make her comfortable.

"Oh! Whew! I was worried you would never wake up!" Rachel jumped at the familiar voice, whipping her head around. She blinked multiple times to make sure he was really standing there. Her imagination couldn't be that cruel.

"Apollo?" Rachel asked, delighted. " Is that really you?"

"In the fle-" he was unable to finish his sentence as Rachel, despite her injuries, hurtled herself towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist, practically sobbing with relief.

She was, of course, delighted to see the extremely handsome god. He looked tall and muscular with his usual tanned skin and long golden hair, currently tied back in a bun. As usual, his blue eyes shone like the sun, and, despite the situation, his smile was still bright and playful. He was dressed in jeans and a sleeveless T-shirt.

He returned the gesture, chuckling, "Aw, I'm glad to see you too, Rachel."

"How did you know I was here?"

Apollo looked at her curiously, as if the answer was obvious.

"Uh," he pointed to himself. "I'm a god."

"I could sense that you were in trouble through the Oracle," he explained. "But I got really concerned when I heard your prayers."

Rachel was a little surprised. She didn't know the gods actually heard those.

"I could tell you were hurt," Apollo said, his expression turning grim. "I'm just sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"It's fine," she said honestly. "But you can get us out of here, right?"

Rachel sat down, already feeling exhausted from the small act of hugging Apollo.

His smile lit up his face again, "Oh, yes, but..." he turned serious again, sitting down next to Rachel. "I think we should talk first."

Rachel stared at him like he was crazy. She would've thought it would be a better plan to get themselves _away_ from Voldemort, and _then_ worry about conversing. Although, Rachel realized, Apollo probably wasn't concerned with Voldemort, given that he was a god and all.

"I need to warn you, Rachel," Apollo began. "This is a dangerous game you're playing."

"Game...?" Rachel replied, confused.

"Using your abilities as the host of the Oracle to help these wizards," he said.

Despite the fact that she knew she shouldn't be, Rachel was still slightly shocked that Apollo knew what she was up to.

"Their my-"

Apollo cut her off, "I know, their your family. I get it, really," he defended. "I just need you to know, this Voldemort guy... he's no joke. I mean, after what happened, you probably know that, but-"

"Wait," Rachel said, stopping his ramblings. "So you know about Voldemort, the wizards and all this magical stuff?"

"Yes," he said simply. "Where do you think they get their magic from. Wizards and witches are all descendants of Hecate."

"The goddess of magic," she finished.

He nodded, "I mean, their much less related to us Greek Gods now, but that's where it came from."

Rachel nodded in understanding.

"So, as I was saying... just... be careful," Apollo said slowly. "More careful than you were before."

Rachel winced at that, looking sheepish.

"I swear, I hear someone else down there!" Rachel's eyes widened as she heard the muffled voice from upstairs, accompanied by fast footsteps.

"Ah," Apollo said. "That's our cue."

He held his hand out to Rachel and she took it immediately. "Close your eyes and hold on tight," Apollo ordered.

She complied and suddenly felt a warm, pleasant sensation ripple throughout her entire body. Suddenly a wave of exhaustion hit her like a ton of bricks and Apollo's hand was gone. She blinked her eyes open briefly, seeing the white sky above her. She shivered as she realized it was snowing. She looked to her right, smiling sleepily as she took in the sight of Grimmauld Place. It didn't matter that she was laying in the snow in the middle of the sidewalk. She was finally home.

**A/N: Wow! I'm so glad I got this up before the end of August, what with school starting soon for me. I really didn't think I would, as I struggled a lot with this chapter. Writing dialogue for Voldemort was surprisingly hard and so was writing from Snape's point of view. Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and I hope that you enjoyed it. In other news, this story hit 300 followers :D! Thank you for anyone that followed, Favorited ****or reviewed last chapter. I don't think I can tell you how much the feedback helps me write or even any suggestions anyone gives me. Also, reminder, the poll for Should Rachel go to Hogwarts? is still up and I encourage you to vote. OK, thanks for reading and please, leave a review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Sirius POV**

Sirius sighed heavily, his frustration getting the better of him as he clenched his fists tightly. Since Snape had informed the Order that Rachel was at Malfoy Manor, Grimmauld Place was in disarray. Order members were walking in and out all day, working nonstop to find the best way, _any_ way, they could retrieve Rachel from that horrible place. If Snape knew where it was, Sirius didn't know why they couldn't just raid the place, get Rachel, and get out. Apparently, everyone else thought it required a little more planning than that.

It didn't help that Harry, the Weasley children and Hermione were interrupting every ten minutes, barging into the kitchen, desperate for answers. Sirius didn't have half a mind to notice the betrayed looks Harry was sending him.

Sirius was extremely antsy the entire time. He hated just sitting there, not knowing what was happening to Rachel. Was she being tortured again? Did Voldemort decide she was no longer useful to him and kill her? He shivered at the thought and decided to tune back into the ongoing meeting to see if they had made any progress.

There was a long piece of parchment splayed across the table displaying the exact layout of Malfoy Manor, courtesy of Snape. Moody and Tonks were currently bent over the table, arguing over the best point of entry while Remus sat to the side, sharing his opinion quietly every once in a while. Molly was bustling around the kitchen, preparing lunch. Sirius knew she was just trying to keep herself busy; Molly had probably taken learning about Rachel's whereabouts the worst.

"We could just go through the front door?" Sirius offered unhelpfully.

Tonks sighed, annoyed, "For the last time Sirius, we can't just barge in there without a plan of action."

"There is a plan of action: go in, get Rachel and get out, plain and simple."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, about to respond, but Remus beat her to it.

"Sirius, you are not the only one that is worried about Rachel. We all want to get her back. But we have to take our time-"

"That's time we don't have. For all we know she could be-"

Remus cast him a warning glance, looking pointedly at Molly, who had stopped what she was doing, "Don't talk like that, Sirius. You heard Snape, Voldemort wants her alive for now."

Sirius was about to retort, but the door to the kitchen busted open once again. Tonks groaned and vanished the parchment in front of her as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins rushed into the room. Sirius sighed; it seemed no matter what charms they put on the door, they would find a way to get in.

Molly immediately started toward them, "Now, really children-"

One of the twins interrupted her, "Mum, we just want to know what's happened to Rachel."

"You shouldn't be concerning yourself with that-"

"She's our _friend_," Harry interrupted her, "Of course we're concerned. We have the right to know."

Harry looked to Sirius, searching for any indication his godfather would support him. Sirius didn't really know what the big deal of telling Harry and the others where Rachel was and what was happening to her, but he knew better that to start a fight with Molly Weasley, it would just waste more time that they didn't have. So, as per usual, Sirius looked away and said nothing.

"It's You Know Who isn't it," Sirius looked over at the uncharacteristically quiet voice of Ginny Weasley. "She's been taken by You Know Who."

"Now, Ginny, don't be silly," her mother said with poorly hidden nervousness. "Now, why don't you all go upstairs while we discuss Order business."

She began herding the children out of the kitchen.

"Sirius, please," Sirius was shocked by Ginny's plea. Sure, he expected Harry to appeal to him like this, but not Ginny. He knew she and Rachel had been extremely close, though, and could tell by her unkempt hair and worried eyes that she was just as torn up by Rachel's disappearance as he was.

He thought, for a moment, how frustrated he would be if no one told him what was happening, especially when it came to people he cared about, people like Rachel. Hesitating, he could feel himself almost blurt out everything that had happened to them. Molly would be furious, though.

"I... I'm sorry, Ginny, but you should listen to your mother."

She looked absolutely defeated as she, along with the others, were ushered out of the room by Molly. Just as she was about to shut the door on them, however, a sound that made everyone freeze reverberated throughout the entire house. It was the sound of someone hammering, hard, on the front door. There was only a moment of silence following the knocks when the portrait of Sirius' mother began her wailing.

Sirius sat there with everyone else in the stunned silence. No one ever knocked on the door to Headquarters. Anyone who was coming now had to be from the Order, and they knew not to waste any time knocking, not to mention the fact that it would be sure to wake up the portrait everyone constantly tried to keep quiet.

It took a few moments for anybody to start moving again. Sirius was the first, as he sprung out of his chair, grabbing his wand as he moved passed Molly, who was now motioning for the children to go back into the kitchen.

Sirius moved into the hallway and strode towards his mothers portrait, intent on shutting her up. He was then joined by Remus, who joined his struggle, and soon, the house was as eerily quiet as before.

Moody and Tonks had made their way into the hallway at some point and were now slowly walking towards the front door, Sirius and Remus not far behind. All four had their wands drawn , not wanting to take any chances with what was behind the door.

Moody and Tonks had stopped in front of the door, speaking in hushed voices about something Sirius couldn't hear. _Probably coming up with a plan of action to open the door, _Sirius thought bitterly, shoving past them and, despite their protests, swinging open the door. He immediately dropped his wand when he did, completely and utterly shocked at what he saw. He heard Tonks gasp behind him.

Before him stood a boy, no older than seventeen, with tan skin, long, golden blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing muggle clothes and had a bright smile on his face, showing off his blindingly white teeth. It was not his appearance that shocked Sirius and the others, but what he was holding in his arms: the unconscious body of Rachel Dare.

"Oh, good," the boy said. "I thought no one was home for a second."

Sirius stayed rooted to the spot he stood, not even bothering to pick up his wand as he stared at what was before him. Tonks was the first to comprehend the situation as she pushed passed Sirius, raising her wand to point as the boys face. He gave no indication that he was intimidated or affected at all by this action.

"Who are you and why have you got Rachel?" she demanded in a strong voice.

"I'm Apollo, a friend of Rachel's," he replied. "I'm sure she's mentioned me."

"No, actually she has not, now-"

"Wait," Sirius interrupted her. "Apollo, as in the _god_ Apollo?"

He seemed pleased that Sirius knew this, "The one and only."

Sirius had heard Rachel talk about Apollo before when she had told him stories about the war.

"A _god,_" Tonks said incredulously. "Prove it."

Apollo's smile faltered for a moment and Sirius thought she had angered him, but it was back on his face in no time.

"I will once you let me in," he replied.

Moody and Tonks both regarded him suspiciously at his answer.

"How do we know you aren't lying, boy?" Moody asked.

Apollo sighed and Sirius could tell he was trying hard to stay patient.

"How would I be able to see this place if I was anything less than a god? Mortals- sorry, _muggles_\- can't see it and neither can wizards unless they have permission."

_He has a point, _Sirius though. So did the others, he could tell, though Moody and Tonks still hesitated to step aside and let him into Grimmauld place.

"I know I have godly strength and all, but I'd like to put her down and tend to her injuries," he said, referring to Rachel.

Sirius immediately lost any doubts he had about Apollo, remembering that Rachel was laying unconscious in his arms, definitely hurt. He pushed Mad- Eye and Tonks out of the way, beckoning the god inside and picking up his wand.

He led Apollo to the sitting room and directed him to place Rachel on the couch, finally getting a good look at her. Her face was scraped up and bruised, but she had a calm, serene expression as she slept.

Tonks, Mad-Eye and Remus came in just as Apollo knelt down to Rachel's level, placing his hand on her injured cheek. The occupants of the room stared confusedly at Apollo as he closed his eyes, his brows furrowing in concentration.

He removed his hand and Sirius was fascinated to see that Rachel's formerly bruised, scraped cheek was now completely clear.

Apollo looked over at all their shocked faces, clearly smug.

"Believe me now?"

They stood in stunned silence as he went back to Rachel, exchanging impressed looks

"Oh! Wait," Apollo said suddenly, making Sirius nervous.

"What is it?" Sirius asked.

"I've got the perfect haiku," he cleared his throat, holding up his hands.

_"I am the greatest _

_I am the god of healing_

_I am so cool_"

Sirius raised his eyebrows, staring at the god in front of him with his mouth open. Mad-Eye, Tonks and Remus held similar looks of confusion.

Apollo didn't seem to mind, it appeared his mistook their expressions as those of awe.

"I'll definitely have to remember to write that one down later," he muttered to himself, turning fully back to Rachel on the couch

_Well, I definitely did not expect that_, Sirius thought to himself.

They stood there for a few moments while Apollo continued his work. Remus cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

"I'm going to floo to Hogwarts and tell Dumbledore about... this."

No one said anything as he entered the fireplace and left in a flash of green flames.

"Will she be okay?" Tonks asked.

"Physically, yes."

"And mentally," Sirius asked, anxious.

"Too soon to tell," Apollo replied.

"What's the extent of her injuries?" Sirius asked.

"She has a minor concussion, bruises and scrapes, as you can see, a dislocated shoulder and..." he trailed off. "I can tell that her body has been put under an extreme amount of stress, but I can't exactly tell how they-"

"The Cruciatus Curse," Sirius offered solemnly.

"The what?" Apollo asked.

"It's an unforgivable curse to wizards," Tonks explained. "It's meant to cause the person being cursed an indescribable amount of pain. It's also known as the torture curse."

Apollo looked horrified at this and looked at Rachel with a grave expression. "Are you sure that's what they used," he inquired quietly.

Tonks nodded, "We had someone on the inside. He saw..."

Apollo turned fully to look at them at this, "He saw what was happening to her and did nothing?"

"He had to-"

Apollo scoffed, his eyes seemed to be glowing as he responded, "He just _had to_ watch a teenage girl be tortured? What if they had intended to kill her. He would have just stood there and watched?"

His biting tone made all three flinch. Even though he appeared quite young, not much older than Harry, Sirius found that he was extremely intimidated by Apollo. Probably because he wasn't actually seventeen and actually a Greek god.

"I'm glad I got her out when I did," he added.

"You rescued her, then?" Tonks asked cautiously.

"Yes," Apollo answered. "I heard her praying to me; begging for a way to get out of there. Now I know why."

They fell silent once again. Mad-Eye left soon after, muttering something about telling Kingsley and the others about this.

"We should go tell Molly and the others that everything's alright," Tonks said after a few moments.

Sirius hesitated, keeping his eyes on Rachel's unconscious form. Though he knew he could trust Apollo with her, he didn't want to leave her. He wanted to keep her within his sights, so he knew she wouldn't be taken from them again. That she wouldn't be put through all that she had again.

As if reading his mind, Tonks placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "She's safe now, Sirius."

He eventually nodded, following her out of the room.

At least now they could finally tell Harry and the others what had happened. He saw no point in keeping anything from them now that Rachel was safe and back at Headquarters. They walked to the kitchen in silence.

"Oh! There you are," Molly said as soon as she saw them, relief flooding her voice. "Is everything alright? Who was at the door? Where's Remus and Alastor?"

Harry and the others perked up at this.

"Remus flooed to Dumbledore and Mad-Eye went to the Ministry. Everything's fine. As for who was at the door..." she trailed off and Sirius could see that she was struggling to think of an appropriate way to explain what had just happened.

"It was Rachel," Sirius answered for her.

Molly looked like she could've fainted right then and there as the others began shouting questions, demanding to know where she was.

"What do you mean it was Rachel?" Molly asked after everyone had calmed down. "That's not possible."

"Rachel was rescued, Molly," Tonks assured her. "She is safe and in the sitting room."

Molly looked ready to cry with relief and rushed forward to hug Tonks and even surprised Sirius by embracing the Animagus. She laughed jovially.

"Oh, that's wonderful to hear. How was she-" she was cut off by an exasperated voice.

"_What is going on?_" Harry asked while the others nodded along. "Why did Rachel need to be rescued?"

Sirius stepped forward before Molly could deny them the right to the information.

"You all should sit down for this," he said.

"Sirius, we can't tell them," Molly warned. "Dumbledore said-"

"Dumbledore said we shouldn't tell them when we were still looking for her," he argued. "She's safe now, so we can tell them. They'll find out eventually."

She backed down hesitantly, clearly put off that Sirius had defied her. So he relayed the story to the six teenagers in front of him, who were more than willing to listen as they eagerly hung onto every word he said. However, when he spoke of what Rachel had endured at Malfoy Manor, they seemed less enthusiastic and he could even see a few tears shed here and there. As he had expected, they all looked mutinous when he explained that Snape had been the one to idly witness her torture. He then finished by explaining what had happened just minutes ago with Apollo.

"She'll be fine, then?" Ginny asked with red rimmed eyes.

"Apollo said she should be fine physically," Sirius replied.

Though no one commented on it, everyone noticed how he had left out her mental recovery.

"Can we see her," one of the twins asked.

"Yeah, I suppose that's alright," Sirius said. "She's in the sitting room with Apollo."

The group walked through the halls silently, mindful of Mrs. Black's portrait as they passed it. Sirius was the first to enter the sitting room and when he did, his heart skipped a beat as he stared at the now empty couch. It held absolutely no indication that Rachel had ever laid on it.

"Where did they go," Tonks asked, sounding just as confused as Sirius felt.

She walked up to couch, bewildered and looked under the cushions frantically, as if they could be under there. Sirius wondered briefly if Apollo took her away from Grimmauld Place without telling them. But he wouldn't do that. Would he? Sirius recalled how angry Apollo had been when they heard about Snape not doing anything to help her. Sirius experienced a fleeting feeling of panic that was cut short by Tonks sigh of relief.

She was holding a piece of parchment that Sirius had not even noticed she had picked up.

"What is it," Sirius asked hurriedly.

"A note from Remus. They moved her to the Hogwarts infirmary."

"Let's go then," Sirius said immediately, grabbing the floo powder.

He waited patiently as each of them grabbed a handful of powder, stepped into the fire and shouted out their destination. Sirius was the last to step into the fireplace, throwing down the powder.

"Hogwarts Infirmary!" he shouted clearly.

**Rachel's POV**

_Rachel felt paralyzed. She couldn't open her eyes or move her limbs. _

_She could, however, hear indistinguishable whispers all around her; rapidly hissed words which she could not understand no matter how hard she tried. She tried to call out to them, but it seemed she was unable to use her voice as well._

_Hadn't she just been in front of Grimmauld Place? Why couldn't she wake up now? Had she been left out in the cold for too long? Was she dead? No, there was no way Apollo would've let that happen after he had gone out of his way to save her from Voldemort._

_She attempted to focus on the whispers again. What were they saying? She strained to hear them and just when she thought she was beginning to understand them, she found the ability to open her eyes. As soon as she did, she regretted it as a blinding flash of white light filled her vision._

_The red head shielded her eyes, dropping her arm when the light seemed to fade. She was horrified by what she saw. _

_Rachel found herself back in Malfoy Manor, looking at herself kneeling on the floor in front of the half circle of Death Eaters. Was this a vision? Did it even count if it had just happened to her?_

_She shuddered as her eyes landed on Voldemort, who began to speak._

_"How are you feeling this evening, Miss Dare?" she saw herself shudder slightly when she spoke his name. "I do hope that you found the cellar quite comfortable."_

_Rachel was surprised at how well she held herself in front of him._

_"I assume you know why you are here today," he continued. "Your most unique abilities have been brought to my attention."_

_He began circling her slowly. _

_"A muggle," he spat out, sounding disgusted, a few of his followers making similar sounds in agreement. "who possesses the Sight and the ability to prophesize."_

_Rachel then remember how surprised she had been when he said this. How could he have possibly known that she could give prophecies?_

_The scene suddenly changed and Rachel found herself in the sitting room of Malfoy Manor. Wormtail was kneeling on the floor in front of Voldemort, much like she had just seen herself doing. He was sweating profusely and quivering beneath his master's wand._

_"M-Master, I-I-I..."_

_"What do you mean she is gone, Wormtail," Voldemort hissed lowly, making Wormtail cower away even more. Rachel assumed they were talking about her._

_"I h-had heard another v-voice down in the cellar a-and Nott came d-down with me to investigate a-and she was g-gone," he explained._

_Voldemort let out a cry of anger, raising his wand to Wormtail, "_Crucio!_"_

_Rachel flinched at this, feeling slightly bad for Wormtail. Although she hated the man, she wasn't sure, now that she knew what pain that one word caused, that she would wish that pain upon anyone. Rachel closed her eyes as Wormtail's cries echoed of the walls of the sitting room and didn't bother opening them until they ceased._

_"Master, I am s-sorry, I will do b-better ne-"_

_"Cease you're stuttering, Wormtail," Voldemort demanded harshly. "The girl was my chance at Seeing the future. She may have helped our cause and you _imbeciles _let her escape."_

_"M-Master-" Wormtail leaned forward desperately pleading with Voldemort._

_"It is no matter," Voldemort spat, disgusted by the groveling man in front of him. "I will very soon be reunited with my most loyal servants. The ones who did not denounce me or hide away."_

_Rachel tensed up at this statement. What did he mean he was reuniting with his most loyal servants?_

_"O-Of course, my lord."_

_"They will not fail me as you have failed me tonight, Wormtail," he hissed._

_"Of course n-not, my lord," Wormtail said fearfully._

_"I will not kill you tonight, Wormtail," Voldemort said and Wormtail seemed to deflate with relief at this. "You were the one who searched for me and resurrected me."_

_"Th-Thank you, master," Wormtail cried. "You are most merciful-"_

_"Be warned, Wormtail. I will not tolerate any more mistakes such as the one made tonight."_

_"Of course, my lord."_

_And it was then that Rachel woke up._

She blinked her eyes open slowly, thankful that there was no bright white light to blind her this time. Rachel could tell that she was now indoors from the lack of cold. She was, to her pleasure, lying in very comfortable, unfamiliar bed with white linen sheets.

The lack of light led her to believe it was now nighttime. She was staring up at an unfamiliar looking high ceiling as she tested her limbs for movement. She found that though her muscle's were extremely stiff and sore, she could move her arms and legs slightly. She looked to her right, observing the large room she was in. Moonlight spilled through the large windows and onto the stone floor. She saw a line of beds identical to her own down the wall.

There was a bedside table directly next to her with various potion's on it. She must be in some kind of magical hospital. Rachel then looked to her left and gasped when she saw who was at her bedside. She smiled at Sirius' sleeping form, curled up on a chair in what looked like an extremely uncomfortable position.

"Sirius," she called out to him. She reached out to him but winced at the strain it put on her muscles and drew her arm back. When he didn't stir, she called out to him louder.

The Animagus stirred, blinking his eyes open, looking slightly confused until his eyes landed on Rachel. He jumped up, wide awake now.

"Rachel!" he exclaimed. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I suppose. I'm a little sore," she replied. "Where are we?"

"The Hospital Wing in Hogwarts," he responded.

"We're in Hogwarts?"

Sirius nodded, sitting back down.

"How did we get here? The last thing I remember is Apollo flashing me to Grimmauld Place."

Sirius explained to Rachel how Apollo had showed up at the door to Grimmauld Place carrying her and how they had decided to bring her to Hogwarts, since Apollo didn't know much about her _magical injuries_, as Sirius put it. She didn't say anything after he said this, so he continued to talk.

"Dumbledore's going to want to know what happened at Malfoy Manor," he said.

Rachel just continued to stare ahead of her, making no indication that she had heard what he said.

"I don't..." she trailed off, unable to think of how to respond.

"I'm just letting you know, if you want to talk about what happened before he gets here, I'll listen."

Rachel tried to suppress the onslaught of memories that came to the forefront of her mind. How she was dragged around the Manor by Wormtail, how she was tortured by Voldemort. And then she remembered something.

"Snape," she said suddenly. "He... he was there. Did he tell you how Voldemort..."

Despite how hard she tried to avoid it, her eyes filled with tears.

"Yes," Sirius said quietly. Rachel was grateful that he had saved her from finishing that sentence. "He was the one that told us where you were and what Voldemort was doing to you."

"It was..." Rachel trailed off, her voice cracking slightly as a few tears escaped down her cheek. "Sirius, I thought I was going to die."

And just like that, the dam broke. Sirius was at her side instantly, comforting her as best he could.

"It's fine, Rachel," he said soothingly. "You're safe now."

"I-I thought I was never going to see you or Ginny or the twins or Mrs. Weasley again."

"You've seen me now," he reasoned. "You'll see them all again."

"I was so scared, Sirius," she said.

"It shouldn't have happened to you," he responded.

"I'm such as idiot," Rachel said angrily. "I kept saying that I could do this, I could handle being here and look at me now. I'm a mess."

"Rachel," Sirius began sternly. "You have every right to be a mess right now. You went through something terrible that was in no way your fault."

She tried to argue, but he quieted her immediately, "None of this was your fault."

Rachel nodded hesitantly. She didn't really believe what he was saying, but she knew better than to disagree. They sat in silence for a few moments, Rachel completely at ease as Sirius held her in a side embrace.

"Although I am curious," Sirius began, breaking the silence. "How did you come to be at Malfoy Manor?"

Rachel knew what he was really trying to ask: _why did you leave Grimmauld Place?_

So, she explained about her meeting with Annabeth and how Percy had gone missing.

"I'm sorry about Percy," Sirius said sincerely. "But you shouldn't have left Headquarters for that."

"I know. It was stupid of me," Rachel responded.

"Not necessarily stupid, just reckless," he said.

"There's a difference?"

Sirius let out a quiet laugh and the two were left in silence once again.

"I had... a sort of vision before I woke up," Rachel said.

Sirius tensed up at this, "What about?"

"Well, it started out at Malfoy Manor. It wasn't like any vision I've ever had," Rachel said. "I was looking at myself in front of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. It was the same thing that had just happened to me.

"It was just when Wormtail had just taken me to Voldemort. Voldemort began speaking to me and he said something..." she trailed off nervously.

"What did he say," Sirius asked encouragingly.

"I don't remember exactly but... he was talking about how he knew about my abilities to See the future and also that he knew I could give prophecies."

Sirius paled at this.

"I mean," Rachel continued when he didn't say anything. "There's _no _way he could know that just based on his attacks that I prevented."

Sirius suddenly adopted a murderous look.

"I knew it," he said angrily. "Snape had to have told them about you."

"I don't know..." Rachel said hesitantly, wondering if it was really the best decision to tell Sirius about this.

"You said it yourself," Sirius continued, standing up. "There's no way Voldemort could have known just based off of the basic information. There is only one person in that circle of Death Eaters that knows you can give prophecies."

_Snape_

_"_Wouldn't surprise me if he was the one who got you attacked in the first place," he added

And yet, Rachel was still not convinced by his argument.

"It wouldn't make sense for him to do that," Rachel said and Sirius gave her an incredulous look.

"Why not? He's a greasy git anyway and-"

"You said that Snape was the one who told you I was at Malfoy Manor," Rachel reminded him. "If he really was telling the Death Eaters about me _and _he was the one that had me attacked, why would he bother telling you all where I was. If Snape really wanted me hurt or dead, he could've just left me with Voldemort ."

Sirius did not seem convinced, but had nothing to retort.

"Anyway," Rachel continued on after a few moments. "I had another vision after that."

Sirius sat at the end of her bed and nodded for her to continue.

"It was also in Malfoy Manor," she began. "It was just after I had escaped and Wormtail was telling Voldemort, who was obviously very angry, about it. Voldemort started telling Wormtail how he and the others were stupid for letting it happen but that... that it didn't matter because he would very soon be reunited with his most loyal followers; the ones that didn't denounce him."

Sirius' expression hardened at this, looking extremely grave.

"Dumbledore will want to hear about that," he said.

"What does it mean?" Rachel inquired.

"That doesn't matter right now," he replied to Rachel's displeasure. "You should get some rest now. You're going to have a lot of visitors tomorrow."

Rachel wanted to argue, but thought better of it and laid down without another word, accepting her dreamless sleep with open arms.

**A/N: Hey everybody! It's been a while since I last updated. First semester of college has been more demanding and stressful than I thought and it seems when I'm not at school, I'm working. Anyway, did this chapter make sense? Because as I was writing it, it just seemed to go to fast and nothing was being explained and then I was afraid no one would understand it. Also, was it boring? It's not my best but I've been picking at it for a few days and I think this is as good as it's going to get for now. I think I might go back and edit it later, I just wanted to get something up. A lot of people reviewed saying they wanted Apollo to be there to meet everyone, so I made it like he never left, I hope that's believable. I think he'll be in next chapter too. And I just wanted to respond to review left by ThePoopleMonster. I actually never thought about the "I am the Oracle of Delphi thing until I read that review, so I should've used that, also I like the idea of giving Rachel something to defend herself. Again, never really thought of it till I read the review and I think I'll probably do that in the future. Thank you to everyone who followed and favorited the story since last chapter and special thanks to everyone who reviewed. They give me great ideas. Thanks for reading. Please review. :D**


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